City of Hope receives $50 million gift from Lennar Foundation to build the future of cancer care

The largest single contribution to City of Hope Orange County will establish Lennar Foundation Cancer Center to accelerate the vision of eradicating cancer and creating healthier communities.

World-renowned cancer research and treatment center City of Hope has received a $50 million gift from Lennar Foundation, the charitable arm of homebuilder Lennar Corporation. This transformational gift of hope is the largest single philanthropic contribution to City of Hope Orange County. It will expedite the health care organization’s bold plans to invest $1 billion to develop and operate a comprehensive cancer campus in Irvine, California, and establish an Orange County network of advanced cancer care and research that will speed groundbreaking treatments directly to a community with growing needs.

The future 190,000-square-foot Lennar Foundation Cancer Center at City of Hope Orange County will be located on 11 acres at Five Point’s Great Park in the heart of Irvine. It will bring best-in-class cancer care, pioneering research and lifesaving treatments to the county’s 3.2 million residents. Construction is already underway on the comprehensive cancer center, which will open in 2022. In addition, Orange County’s only hospital dedicated exclusively to treating and curing cancer will open at City of Hope Irvine in 2025.

City of Hope’s presence in Orange County offers local access to City of Hope’s National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center with world-renowned cancer physicians and researchers who are singularly focused on finding better treatments and cures. Lennar Foundation Cancer Center at City of Hope Orange County will bring to the region a host of distinguishing services, including:

Local access to more than 1,000 physicians and researchers who are transforming laboratory breakthroughs into targeted treatments that offer the best hope for patients
Access to hundreds of clinical trials that make 21st century treatments available to cancer patients meeting clinical criteria soon after they are developed.
A range of treatment options — from chemotherapy to immunotherapy and more — for combatting even the most aggressive cancers
New ways for preventing and treating cancer in its early stages, including highly targeted genomics and precision medicine breakthroughs
Nationally recognized supportive care programs rooted in more than a century of compassionate caregiving to help patients and their families overcome the psychosocial issues that can accompany a serious illness

As the country emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, Lennar Foundation’s extraordinary contribution underscores the importance of investing in local health care resources and increasing access to leading-edge care. For Orange County, it is a reminder that cancer does not stop, and that City of Hope’s mission is more important than ever.

Lennar has a long history in Orange County of developing thriving communities, including helping form the vision for a world-class recreation and lifestyle destination. This gift is an extension of this longstanding commitment to improving lives in the regions Lennar helps shape. A portion of the gift to City of Hope is designated to support clinical translational research between City of Hope and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Miami, thus uniting two organizations supported by Lennar’s generosity who share similar goals in developing new treatments and cures for patients with cancer.

City of Hope and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center serve two of the most diverse areas in the United States. Both organizations are committed to conducting high-impact research that addresses the cancer burden in their communities. This gift will enable collaborative, translational science that will drive innovation and catalyze timely and necessary progress towards health equity.

Lennar Foundation’s gift to City of Hope is a generous continuation of Lennar’s longstanding support of the comprehensive cancer center. Jon Jaffe, co-chief executive officer and co-president of Lennar Corporation, is a member of City of Hope’s Construction Industries Alliance Leadership Advisory Council, which raises funds for cancer treatment and research. In recognition of his contributions, Jaffe was awarded City of Hope’s highest honor — The Spirit of Life® Award in 2004.

City of Hope Newport Beach, the first phase of City of Hope Orange County’s expansion, opened in early 2020, providing Orange County residents first-time local access to world-renowned physicians backed by the powerful City of Hope network. City of Hope plans to open other clinical network locations across the region.

To read the full article, go to the OC Register or read the full press release.

Anna Young