UCSD Could Own Former MCASD Site at Santa Fe Depot by Year’s End After Council Decision

The San Diego City Council has approved a transfer of property that marks a key milestone in a collaboration for a downtown cultural center.

The decision, to allow UC San Diego to take ownership of 1100 Kettner Boulevard from the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, will help the university in its pursuit of becoming “a destination for arts, culture and lifelong education for both the campus and our broader community,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla.

“This museum will extend our arts programming to downtown, forge connections between artists across our binational region, and catalyze a thriving arts culture in the heart of the city,” he added.

The university plans to purchase the property on the Santa Fe Depot stop of the San Diego Trolley’s Blue Line and invest significant resources in initial upgrades that would include everything from a seismic retrofit to making the space fully adaptable for a wide array of programming.

With the Nov. 19 approval from the city, the university anticipates closing escrow before the end of the year.

“UC San Diego’s acquisition of the Santa Fe Depot building marks an exciting new chapter for this historic site,” said Steve Strauss, president of the MCASD board of trustees. “We trust that the university will be a good caretaker of the building and MCASD’s iconic site-specific art collection.”

One goal for the downtown property is to create an ecosystem for students and people working in the arts to persuade them to remain in the area. Nonprofit residencies are planned, as well as studio space for individual visual artists.

Built-in flexibility will ensure there is room for large-scale events and immersive experiences, as well as more intimate spaces for performance and visual art. In addition to providing space to produce, rehearse and perform, the university plans to support artists with ticketing and other administrative support.

“The operational model we are designing for this beautiful space will offer essential resources that artists and nonprofits need to grow, thrive and sustain themselves,” said Colleen Kollar Smith, executive director of the Campus Performance and Events Office at UC San Diego.