"We are delighted to receive this recognition," says Gladstone's Vice President of Administrative Affairs, Dan Oshiro, who accepted the award on behalf of the institutes at a banquet at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, on March 23. "When our three trustees decided back in 1999 to purchase and develop land adjacent to the new UCSF Mission Bay campus, it was, frankly, a bit of a gamble, tempered by their astute real estate acumen. The result, a stunning new facility, offers many advantages, placing Gladstone at the center of an emerging biotech corridor in a region that is at the forefront of medical research."
In his acceptance comments, Oshiro lauded the efforts and teamwork of project manager Todd Sklar of Mezzatesta Sklar, prime contractor Rudolph and Sletten and architects NBBJ San Francisco, all of whom worked hand in hand with Gladstone's operations department and end users throughout the design and construction phases. He further acknowledged the City and County of San Francisco, particularly the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, whose cooperation was critical to completion of the project ahead of schedule.
To be eligible for the Business Times award, new projects must have broken ground or been completed in calendar year 2004 and must be located in San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa or Marin counties or the city of Palo Alto. Six industry judges joined the Business Times editorial staff to consider not only the size and value of projects, but also their community impact, transit impact, financial backing, quality of design and suitability of land use.
For 25 years, Gladstone's approximately 325 staff members were scattered across several buildings at San Francisco General Hospital and the surrounding neighborhood. Following the decision by Gladstone's Irvine-based trustees to purchase land at Mission Bay, the project quickly came to fruition. Design began in the spring of 2002, construction started in March 2003, and the project was completed last September.
The UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institutes has a long and rich record of basic research achievements in such areas as cardiovascular disease, immunology, virology and neurodegenerative disorders. The new building provides approximately 200,000 square feet of space for laboratories and offices, and a 150-seat auditorium. It houses the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, and the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease.
The structure is designed to promote interaction between scientists. Each Gladstone institute has its own floor with approximately 100 workstations, or bench spaces, stretching in rows from one end of the building to the other. Laboratory floors are arranged in three long stripes: bench spaces on one side, administrative offices and cubes on the other, and specialized facilities down the center. Research and office areas are open and can be easily reconfigured to suit the changing needs of scientists and support staff.
The San Francisco Business Times provides coverage of local business activities, including financial news and real estate and construction acquisitions, along with national and international trade and marketing information.
For further information about the J. David Gladstone Institutes, visit www.gladstone.ucsf.edu, and for a fact sheet about the new building, visit www.gladstone.ucsf.edu/gladstone/site/missionbay/.