With build-out scheduled for November 2004, construction on the development is in its "beginning phases," according to project manager Tracy MacDonald of McCarthy Building Cos. Inc., the development's general contractor. He tells GlobeSt.com that the foundations and basement walls are currently being built.

Upon completion, the 270,000-sf cancer center will consist of two facilities--a three-story clinical service and administrative section and a five-story research structure--that will be linked by an atrium. The clinical services and administrative section will house patient care rooms, pharmacy and clinical labs on the first floor; administrative offices and an auditorium on the second floor; and clinical trial offices on the third floor. The complex's research section, meanwhile, will consist of wet-bench research laboratories, laboratory support and associated office space.

Designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, the complex is a "unique project" because it is a flagship development for the campus, MacDonald says. "From an architectural standpoint they have not held back," he explains, adding that the administrative structure will be constructed of cast-in-place concrete, while the research section will have a structural steel frame. The completed center, which will incorporate stone facades and glass enhancements, also will feature outdoor gardens designed to accommodate the special needs of cancer patients. At build-out, the complex will stand on a 2.4-acre parcel located on UCSD's East Campus.