Gilead Sciences Inc., a major pharmaceutical company, will establish a 23-acre campus in La Verne that will employ 500 people, extend Wheeler Avenue to Puddingstone Drive and conduct research for cures and improved treatment techniques for significant diseases.
The scientific and medical research company committed to advancing therapeutics which improve lives will relocate from San Dimas to La Verne and take over a 23-acre parcel in the industrial and manufacturing zone in La Verne’s southern quadrant, noted La Verne Senior Planner Eric Scherer during a recent La Verne City Council meeting.
The La Verne Planning Commission and Development Review Committee had already approved the tentative tract map, height variance for portions of the proposed building and the retainng walls and a precise plan for site design and architecture. No action was required by the council. Council members received the Gilead project update as an information item only.
Councilwoman Robin Carder called the unique architectural design Gilead plans for the 400,000-square-foot development plan “stunning” and aesthetically pleasing.
“I am thrilled La Verne was chosen and I welcome you,” Carder continued. “There’ll have to be more restaurants built in town to accommodate all the new employees here.”
Scherer, responding to Councilman Charlie Rosales’ concern about possible conflict with takeoff and landing aircraft at nearby Brackett Field, said the Gilead project poses no potential problems with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations and height restrictions.
Councilmembers Donna Redman and Ron Ingels and Mayor Don Kendrick all said they looked forward to Gilead’s relocation and felt it would be a great addition to the city.
Fred Kilpatrick, Gilead’s engineering director, and Binh Le, the company’s facilities operations and engineering director, described Gilead as a research, development, manufacturing, sales and marketing firm for the pharmaceutical industry.
“We primarily focus on cures or improved treatments of significant diseases,” Kilpatrick said. “Our sterile intravenous products are under strict regulation guidelines by the Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies.”
The 23-acre parcel at Wheeler and Puddingstone was previously proposed by Trammell Crow Co. for 11 buildings it would develop as the La Verne Technology and Trade Center. The Trammell company plans were approved in 2013, but then Trammell decided to abandon the project and sold the property to CT Realty. The latter worked in partnership with Gilead Sciences Inc. to develop the property as its La Verne campus for the large pharmaceutical firm. The Gilead proposal returns the project to a single building, with a maximum size of 400,000 square feet and a rooftop elevation of 75 feet to accommodate manufacturing equipment. Gilead will also complete the extension of Wheeler Avenue which currently ends at Puddingstone Drive, include a water-quality basin at the southwest corner of the site and fully enclose the La Verne “campus” with perimeter fencing with private 24-hour security.
“The gates along Wheeler Avenue will be open during normal business hours and then accessible after hours by either a posted guard or keycard access,” Scherer said. “The secondary gates enclosing the loading and shipping areas will be secured with a keycard system 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Both the fire and police departments will have emergency access to these gates.”
The senior planner also noted that Gilead will use glass-fiber reinforced concrete for its manufacuring, central utilities plant and warehouse. This material, he said, “allows the applicant to design in textures, relief and colors for a richer architectural look and to be compatible wih the surrounding business park.” The lab and office building will be designed in a combination of this material and glass curtain wall “with limited use of high-quality metal panel systems for architectural highlights.”
The final architectural results will be more aesthetically pleasing and create a series of connected buildings “which will have the appearance of a more modern, coprorate headquarters for one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies,” Scherer said.
