GM Makes $71M Investment in SoCal Tech Campus

General Motors is moving and expanding its Advanced Design Center to a new location in Pasadena. The firm has invested more than $71 million to create a new 149,000-square-foot campus in Pasadena for the Advanced Design Center operations. The new location will expand capacity and create new jobs in the area.

GM’s Advanced Design Center was located in North Hollywood; however, the new location is closer to technology centers that will help to accelerate GM’s lofty goals, which include zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. The new location new universities and design schools will help to fuel recruiting in aerospace engineering, defense, automotive design, software development and advanced technology.

GM is expanding its design operations globally. It has also announced the Design West facility, which is currently under construction at the Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, and GM the expansion of the Advanced Design Center in Shanghai, China. Generally, the program is focused on pioneering mobility innovations outside of automobiles. Already, these facilities have supported significant innovation, including the creation of BrightDrop, a commercial delivery and logistics business backed by GM, a personal autonomous concept vehicle and vertical takeoff and landing aircraft from Cadillac, and the lunar rover concept developed in partnership with Lockheed Martin.

The new location in Pasadena will continue to support this innovation. The new location will be outfitted with top tools, including visualization and immersive technology, including augmented and virtual reality; advanced user experience/user interface design studio and dedicated collaboration, research and development space. The property is currently in the build out stage and will be ready for occupancy in late 2022. Until then, GM will continue to operate out of the North Hollywood location.

The facility is reminiscent of the forward-thinking Millenia Smart Park from developer Chesnut Properties in San Diego, which is currently under construction. The property is also a hub for alternative mobility, featuring small and large drone aerial testing, marine drone testing and an autonomous vehicle testing track along with office buildings and research space. The project promises to be a pillar in Chula Vista’s path toward becoming a smart city. The area is one of only two autonomous vehicle proving grounds designated by the US Department of Transportation in California, making it an ideal location for the park.