Slated to open in the summer of 2013, the 70,000-square-foot Gavin Herbert Eye Institute will include state-of-the-art patient exam and waiting areas, an outpatient surgery center, an optical shop, faculty offices and conference space. Interior design features recommended by the Braille Institute will make it easier for low-vision patients to navigate within the facility.

Construction of the $37 million building is being funded entirely through local private philanthropy. To date, UC Irvine Health has raised about 75 percent of the amount needed for the eye institute to open next summer.

07/24/2012

Completion of the concrete frame for the new home of UC Irvine’s Gavin Herbert Eye Institute – Orange County’s only academic eye institute – will be celebrated at a “topping out” event for donors, faculty, staff and media.

Parking lot 83 (grid G3 on campus map)

04:00 p.m.

4 p.m.: Reception

4:30 p.m.: Special presentation to Gavin Herbert, founder and chairman emeritus of Allergan Inc., and acknowledgement of the traditional “topping out” tree and American flag that will sit atop the building.

5 p.m.: Guests sign a large commemorative glass pane that will decorate an interior wall of the eye institute.