The University of California (UC) Board of Regents has approved the establishment of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) cancer treatment facility, as part of a broader development in southeast San Francisco, US.
The proton therapy centre will be located within the UCSF Clinical and Life Sciences Building, four blocks south of the UCSF Mission Bay Campus.
Anticipated to commence operations in 2029, the facility is set to become a cornerstone of the Dogpatch Power Station project, which is expected to generate employment and enhance the availability of UCSF Health clinical care in the region.
The proton beam therapy to be offered at the centre is an advanced form of cancer treatment, which delivers highly targeted radiation doses to tumours while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.
This approach is presently accessible only in Southern California and Seattle on the West Coast. The facility will provide access to the treatment approach throughout Northern California once functional.
Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, in collaboration with Stantec, the 130-foot, eight-storey building will feature primary and speciality care clinics from the second to the fifth floor, with the proton therapy centre housed in the two subterranean levels.
The clinical spaces are scheduled to open a year earlier in 2028, enabling UCSF Health to expand its patient services, including its speciality-care programmes.
This building will also incorporate an endoscopy suite, an infusion centre, and a pharmacy to support the comprehensive needs of the cancer programme and the clinics.
In addition, the building’s upper floors will be dedicated to a life sciences incubator, supporting scientific startups and extending UCSF's innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives.
The project has received unanimous approval from the Planning Commission, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Port Commission, and other regulatory bodies.
UCSF is now set to seek final budget approval from the Regents later in the year.
UCSF chancellor Sam Hawgood said: “This is an exciting project that will bring together renowned patient care and biomedical research, as well as graduate-level training and new biomedical companies to serve the region for years to come.
“It will also provide good jobs in the Dogpatch area, contributing to the economic vitality of this area of the city. We are pleased that the UC Regents saw the value in this project and its importance to San Francisco.”
