At its meeting earlier this week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a new master plan for Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, clearing the way for a 1.3-million expansion of the hospital's campus in Sylmar.

Located on 230 acres of land at 14445 Olive View Drive, was built in the early 1920s, and has served as an acute care facility since the 1970s.  It is currently centered on a six-story hospital tower which was completed in 1987.

The master plan - crafted by Smith Group - is broken into two tiers, starting with near-term projects and followed by longer-term improvements slated for completion after the year 2035.

Tier I projects, slated for undeveloped sites to the north and east of the existing hospital, include: 

  • a two-story, 16,000-square-foot recuperative care center for individuals recovering from an acute illness or injury that no longer require inpatient hospital care; 
  • five two-story buildings comprising a residential treatment program facility to provide ongoing inpatient mental health care to patients;
  • a single-story mental health urgent care center to replace an existing facility on the campus; 
  • a single-story mental health wellness center to provide outpatient mental health and supportive services; 
  • a 296,000-square-foot ambulatory care center for outpatient care.
  • a 20,000-square-foot community center;
  • a 96,000-square-foot administrative services building; and
  • structured parking for 637 vehicles

Tier II projects could include: 

  • two new buildings - totaling 120,000 square feet of space - which would provide medical offices, educational facilities, and research facilities for UCLA;
  • senior, fitness, and child care centers; 
  • a three-story, 135,000-square-foot long-term care facility;
  • up to 40,000 square feet of retail space facing Olive View Drive; and
  • structured parking for 437 vehicles.

In addition to open spaces such as gardens and multi-use paths, the master plan also calls for either the renovation of the existing hospital building to comply with California's seismic retrofit requirements, or potentially the construction of a 600,000-square-foot replacement hospital.