UCLA expands with $80 million purchase of new campus properties in Rancho Palos Verdes and San Pedro

RANCO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (KABC) -- UCLA is expanding its campus as part of an effort to boost admissions.

The university on Tuesday announced it is purchasing two properties that were previously owned by Marymount California University, which permanently closed its doors last month due to rising costs and declining enrollments.

The purchase includes a 24-and-a-half acre campus in Rancho Palos Verdes and an 11-acre residential site in San Pedro, according to a news release.

UCLA described the land acquisition as the largest in its history -- costing $80 million-dollars and allowing the admission of an additional 1,000 students.

"We are grateful to have been chosen as stewards of this site and to extend the tradition of teaching and learning there," said Chancellor Gene Block in a message to the UCLA community announcing the news. "We are thinking deeply about how the site can best increase access to education for our students and enhance the broader community, and we're looking forward to sharing more in the future."

The purchase is not expected to affect existing campus operations.