A former mall in Los Angeles that was slated for Google to occupy has sold to the University of California for $700 million as the higher education system plans to convert the empty space into a research park — without the tech giant.

The deal represents a clearer direction for a property that has been tied to Google since a lease was signed in 2019 with the previous owners prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Up until now, there has been uncertainty about Google’s intentions at the properties known today as One Westside and Westside Two. The Mountain View, California-based company has been adjusting its national real estate footprint in recent months in response to the popularity of hybrid work.

For years now, landlords and developers across the country also have been trying to reinvigorate malls with new types of tenants or adapt them to entirely new uses, such as apartments, as they adjust to shifting consumer demand.

In this case, the longtime Westside Pavilion, a mall that opened in 1985 and was famous for its appearances in movies and music videos including Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'," will house the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy at UCLA and the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, as well as programs across the disciplines, according to a statement from the university.

“UCLA’s goal is to build the immunology equivalent of Silicon Valley in Los Angeles,” Dr. John Mazziotta, vice chancellor for health sciences and CEO of UCLA Health, said in the statement. “Given the university’s expertise and state-of-the-art facilities, we are expecting to attract the world’s best scientists in immunology and immunotherapy, as well as top students.”

Los Angeles-based Hudson Pacific Properties and Santa Monica-based Macerich said Wednesday they sold the roughly 687,000-square-foot One Westside and Westside Two to the University of California, according to the statement. Hudson Pacific owned a 75% interest, while Macerich had a 25% stake.

One Westside is located roughly 2 miles south from UCLA's main campus.

Google is no longer leasing or occupying One Westside and instead is accommodating its greater Los Angeles employees in its Playa Vista and Venice offices, according to someone with knowledge of the deal.

“We’re continuing to take a measured approach to ensuring our real estate investments match the current and future needs of our workforce, business and communities, and are delighted that UCLA will be further developing the former mall into a state-of-the-art facility that will help accelerate transformative research and innovation and benefit the broader Los Angeles community,” Scott Foster, Google vice president of real estate and workplace services, said in a statement.

The company declined to comment further to CoStar News.

Other examples of Google trimming its real estate footprint include cutting ties in November with its development partner to build upward of 15,000 housing units and commercial space around its Silicon Valley headquarters. The company also has put up more than 1 million square feet of office space for sublease. In 2023, Google spent at least $570 million to close offices and end leases as it reduced expenses in response to slowing sales

The former mall's sale is among the largest real estate sales in terms of total price in recent years in Los Angeles. The transaction also arrives as Hudson Pacific, which owns office and entertainment space, aims to pay off its debt maturities through sales in response to a struggling office market. Hudson Pacific now has no debt maturities until year-end 2025, according to the statement.

Hudson Pacific and Macerich have already partially converted the mall into a 584,000-square-foot, Class A creative office campus. The property was delivered to Google for tenant improvements in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

It wasn't immediately known if the deal was subject to Los Angeles' transfer tax on properties selling above $5 million. Federal, state and local public agencies and other public entities are exempt from paying the tax, according to the city of Los Angeles.

CoStar News has not obtained a public deed related to the sale, which would have triggered a whopping $41.65 million transfer tax if there is no exemption. The tax monies are aimed in part to address the city's housing crisis. Roughly $142.7 million in transfer taxes have been collected since April 2023 when the tax went into effect.

UCLA has been in growth mode in recent months. In June 2023, the institution bought the roughly 334,000-square-foot Trust Building in downtown Los Angeles for a future campus. The university also wrapped up a deal last year to buy Marymount California University's campus in Rancho Palos Verdes.