LCAD prepares to begin construction on Innovation Center
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Laguna College of Art and Design leaders hope that when the Innovation Center is built, it will lead to a more centralized and connected experience on campus.
During construction, which school officials anticipate will begin Monday, March 9, the majority of the parking lot at LCAD’s Big Bend campus will be unavailable, leaving some students and faculty members in need of an alternative.
Student parking will not be allowed at the Big Bend or East Campus lots, according to the school’s website.
The Laguna Beach City Council this week adopted a resolution to establish a city parking lot rental program. A presentation before the vote noted that LCAD had requested to rent certain parking lots to mitigate the impact of construction on its campus community.
City officials and the college negotiated the use of paid public parking areas near Laguna Art-A-Fair at Lot 10, to allow non-exclusive use of 65 spaces at 725 Laguna Canyon Road, about 25 spaces of adjacent street parking and the exclusive use of 35 parking spaces in Lot 16, also known as the Act V Lot at 1900 Laguna Canyon Road.
The agreement gives LCAD temporary use of the parking spaces on weekdays until May 31, and it will resume after the summer art festival season to Dec. 20, City Manager Dave Kiff said. Lot 16 use will also extend to Saturdays within the specified period.
Laguna College of Art and Design’s $100-million capital campaign has reached the midway point. The planned development is headlined by a two-story, 22,000-square-foot Innovation Center.
The college will pay $5,000 for the temporary use of the parking spaces in 2026. A staff report noted the temporary parking permit could be revisited if construction carries over into the following year.
“These would be the non-exclusive use of Lot 10 and the spaces along Laguna Canyon Road at the same revenue that we generated from those spaces in 2025, the last full year we have a record for,” said Kiff, characterizing the lots as “fairly vacant,” particularly in winter. “Then the Act V lot spaces, which are fewer, would be used at a liability waiver to us, but no compensation to LCAD, and they would use that on the Saturdays during the term.
“This would all be complete in time for the festivals to open [and] would start again after the festivals have ended.”
A shuttle service funded by LCAD will also be provided to transport students between the Big Bend campus and the rented lots at 15-minute intervals, a college spokesperson said. The shuttle will operate between 7:45 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The Innovation Center will be a two-story, 22,000-square-foot facility, providing new classrooms and print labs, event and gallery space, and a cafe.
According to a construction update provided on the school’s website, a construction trailer is expected to be delivered the week of March 9, at which time perimeter fencing will be installed around the work area.
