UCI, Irvine Co. Shake on Business Park Expansion

By JOHN POPE

July 14, 1998 12 AM PT

UC Irvine and Irvine Co. have agreed to a land lease arrangement that will expand a business center on 85 acres owned by the university next to the campus, officials announced Monday.

Under the agreement, the Irvine Co. will develop about a million square feet to expand the University Research Park, a business center on the west edge of campus.

Officials said the Research Park will be marketed to businesses in such areas as biomedical research, biotechnology, information technology, engineering and health care, with emphasis on collaboration with UCI faculty.

“This agreement represents a major step in our efforts to build meaningful partnerships with business that will enhance UCI’s development as a leading research university,” UCI Chancellor Ralph J. Cicerone said.

Under the plan, Irvine Co. will fund the infrastructure and improvements to the property, estimated at about $20 million, pay about $3 million in related fees and pay another $3 million to help finance buildings in UCI’s Irvine Biomedical Research Center.

At the end of the 65-year lease, UCI will take ownership of the buildings.

The research park is expected to generate about $80 million in lease revenue for UCI during the next 25 years, officials have estimated.