The University of California, Riverside hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for the SoCal OASIS Park, a new technology center with a focus on clean technology and sustainability.
The noon event took place at the former UCR Extension Center site on University Avenue. The 8-acre campus — part of the Opportunities to Advance Sustainability, Innovation, and Social Inclusion, or OASIS initiative — will be a “transformative green tech hub” for the Inland Empire region, according to a city statement. The new technology park will be on a 3.44-acre site near UCR’s west entrance, according to the university.
The $68 million facility blends “applied research, workforce development and entrepreneurial infrastructure” to address the region’s most challenging sustainability issues.
“OASIS is more than a facility, it represents the convergence point for the region’s emerging green technology and battery ecosystems — where innovation, industry, and community meet,” Rosibel Ochoa, UCR associate vice chancellor of technology partnerships, said in a statement.
The first phase of the SoCal OASIS Park includes:
- Building 1, approximately 36,000 square feet equipped with an “incubator and maker space,” training rooms and offices, officials said;
- three specialized laboratories — the Sustainable Immersive Mobility, Sustainable Integrated Grid and Atmospheric Simulation and Measurement labs.
- public space and classrooms; and
- EV charging stations, bike paths and site-design elements that focus on sustainability.
Officials said the SoCal OASIS incubator is now accepting interest from future clean technology startups, entrepreneurs, and research-driven companies. Interested parties should contact Nicole Cleary nicole.cleary@ucr.edu for more information about leasing opportunities and programmatic support.
“This groundbreaking marks the beginning of a project that will shape Riverside’s innovation future,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said in a statement. “SoCal OASIS will attract world-class companies, create jobs, and ensure Riverside leads the way on sustainability.”
Expected completion of the project is spring 2027.
More information is available from UC Riverside.
