A notice issued last month by the University of California finally lifted the veil on UCLA Health's plans for the shuttered Olympia Medical Center campus in Mid-Wilshire: an acute neuropsychiatric hospital. Now, the project design team is unveiling what the revamped medical center will look like.
HOK and McCarthy Building Companies have been selected by UCLA Health as the design-build team for the new hospital, which calls for both new construction and the conversion of existing building in an effort to create a unified care facility catering to patients suffering from mental and behavioral health problems.
View of Olympia Medical Center from San Vicente BoulevardGoogle Street View
The new facility at 5900 Olympic Boulevard will replace UCLA's existing inpatient neuropsychiatric facility located at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center campus in Westwood. Plans call for 119 beds at the Mid-Wilshire complex - replacing all 74 beds at the Westwood facility - as well as 20 additional observation beds.
In addition to patient beds, the new hospital will include supportive functions such as food service, imaging, pharmacy, lab areas and administrative offices. Likewise, the design incorporates therapy spaces on each floor, as well as rooftop terraces and gardens at the ground level for use by both patients and staff.
5900 W Olympic BoulevardGoogle Maps
Currently, the 175,000-square foot hospital is on track to begin construction in May 2023, with completion expected by Spring 2026. The total cost of the Mid-Wilshire campus is estimated at $400-million.
The project originated as an alternative to the construction of a new neuropsychiatric wing within the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center complex - an endeavor which carried an estimated $1-billion price tag and 12-year timeline. UCLA Health instead opted to acquire an existing facility, the Olympic Medical Center, which closed in March 2021.
