At full capacity, they are expected to administer 250 tests per day. In its first day of operation, the Antelope Valley Mall site administered more than 120. “It’s really important to us that we engage with our communities and reflect the values of those communities,” said John Alderson, an executive vice president in QIC’s U.S. investment management division. Alderson says Redondo Beach city officials asked him if QIC would allow the county to operate a testing site in the South Bay Galleria parking lot, and the Los Angeles Fire Department asked about Antelope Valley Mall. “There was a lot of coordination with different levels of government,” explains Alderson, who led the effort on behalf of QIC, which is providing the parking lots free of charge.

QIC reviewed the county’s testing and operational protocols to ensure neither site would pose health risks or damage the shopping centers’ reputations. Los Angeles County signed a two-page licensing agreement for each mall. “We spent a lot of time looking at county provisions to make sure the health and safety of the community and our employees was paramount,” says Alderson, noting that the county has strict protocols for both sites, including requiring drivers to remain in their cars and restricting which types of site workers may approach the vehicles.

Alderson has made it his mission to allow local officials to work unimpeded to set up and operate the sites. He also strives to protect the health and safety of mall employees and the interests of the handful of mall tenants that remain open, namely health-related tenants and restaurants offering takeout. For their own protection, QIC’s teams at the malls have not been allowed to assist in setting up or running the testing sites. “We have been careful to protect our staff from any exposure, while also giving free, unimpeded access to our surface parking lots as quickly as possible,” said Alderson.

“The only time we said no to something,” he said, “is if it got in the way of the restaurants that remain open or would endanger our staff.” The night before the South Bay Galleria site opened, for example, Alderson learned that the line for cars had been set up to wind in front of a couple restaurants that remain open. “We brought up the issue, and everybody on every level was so cooperative in the spirit of public health,” said Alderson. The county rerouted the line to a secure area around the perimeter of the property.

Alderson’s advice for others offering their parking lots: Remain nimble, committed and willing to work through some confusion. “Have the courage to engage,” he said. He’s offered to field questions from others considering such action. “We worked with a lot of layers of government and ranks within the fire department. There was a lot of confusion” but also a can-do spirit from everyone involved, he explains.

Redondo Beach City Manager Joe Hoefgen said, "QIC's willingness to offer its property for this purpose and its strong ongoing partnership with us is an important contribution to our collective efforts to safeguard the health and safety of our residents and the greater Los Angeles area.”