Caltech to purchase St. Luke site

Caltech has entered into a binding agreement to purchase the former St. Luke Medical Center in northeast Pasadena from the facility’s owner, Tenet Healthcare Corporation. Terms of the sale, scheduled to close in late June, have not been finalized.

Located four miles from the Caltech campus, the property will be used to augment Caltech’s research and other related activities. It is not expected to be used for teaching purposes.

“Caltech is excited about the fact that we’ve been able to identify a substantial piece of property in Pasadena that gives us the opportunity to contemplate stra-tegic research initiatives that otherwise would be limited by our current facilities,” says President David Baltimore. “This historically significant facility allows us to think very differently about the future of Caltech.”

Trevor Fetter, president of Tenet Healthcare, says, “Tenet’s goal has been to find a buyer that would preserve this important architectural landmark in the Pasadena community, and we’re delighted that Caltech has made that commitment.”

Opened in 1933 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, St. Luke was one of the San Gabriel Valley’s first hospitals. The building’s Spanish-style dome and facade look much the same today as when the hospital opened. St. Luke’s manicured lawns, terrazzo floors, and winding stairways epitomize Pasadena’s elegant architecture.

Tenet purchased the facility in 1997, but because of its age and lack of adaptability to modern hospital requirements, it had lost business in recent years and was closed last year.
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