POMONA - A lone wall on a freshly-graded construction site at Cal Poly Pomona doesn't look like much.

But that wall is the beginning of a new era for the Southern California division of the American Red Cross.

"Our goal is to become an independent region," said spokeswoman Julie Juliusson. "Our goal is to not rely on other parts of the country for our blood needs.

The American Red Cross Southern California Blood Services Region is building the $41.1 million facility which broke ground last summer at Cal Poly Pomona.

After scouring Southern California for the best location to collect, process and deliver blood, Cal Poly, at the junction of three freeways, near two other freeways and minutes away from Ontario International Airport, became the optimum spot for the new regional headquarters.

Built in 1951, the current Los Angeles headquarters is too small for the growing Southland population.

As the population expands and changes, so must the Red Cross in order to provide adequate supplies of blood, Juliusson said.

Currently, 40 percent of the region's blood supply is imported from other parts of the country. The new 190,000-sq.-ft. building and a public awareness campaign will hopefully make the Los Angeles basin less reliant on imported blood, Juliusson said.

The regional office is beefing up outreach and recruitment, especially in the Latino population, she said.

The regional center will be the anchor to Cal Poly Pomona's Innovation Village, a 65-acre technology park. Innovation Village is designed to create a relationship between the university's resources and those of the private sector.

The Red Cross headquarters will provide research opportunities for students and faculty.

Construction is slated to be complete in December.