The Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach has purchased its North Campus property—a three-acre patch known as “Big Bend”—to accommodate growth.
The approximate $9 million purchase follows the exit of the campus’ previous co-tenant, Winter Dental Labs. Occupying the entire campus will enable the college to provide space for its new illustration entertainment design major and build four computer classrooms for all visual communications majors.
“We’re thrilled that it’s finally our campus and we’re not sharing it with another tenant,” President Jonathan Burke said.
The dental labs previously occupied 80% of the North Campus parcels. College executives let building owner Frank Darien know they were interested in taking over the lease, with an option to purchase, after the dental labs announced plans to leave two years ago, Burke said. The North Campus is two contiguous parcels at 2825 and 2851 Laguna Canyon Road. Each is 11/2 acres. The school has several additional locations, including its main campus at 2222 Laguna Canyon Road and a gallery at 374 Ocean Ave.
The purchase of the North Campus was facilitated by $15 million in tax-exempt financing from Wells Fargo, college Chief Financial Officer James Godek said. It used equity from its existing property for the 25% down payment, he added. The term is for 25 years.
The illustration entertainment design major launches this fall. It will teach undergrads how to design “highly engaging visitor attractions and story based experiences” for venues including theme parks, museums, visitor centers and restaurants.
Classes will include 3-D computer modeling, digital painting, and storyboarding for live-action film and TV. Storyboarding is the development of a sequential series of staged drawings for each scene.
Cintiq
The college will provide a state-of-the-art Cintiq interactive display lab in one of the new classrooms. A Cintiq is a pen-on-screen drawing device made by Japan-based Wacom.
That will give students access to “the latest digital-image-making tools used by leading creative professionals and companies,” Burke said. “Students in animation, graphic design, game art and illustration will now have the ability to draw, design and paint directly on a color-display screen.”
The other classrooms will be outfitted with 27-inch iMacs with 5K resolution, which has seven times the resolution of full High Definition and is helpful for video editing and content creation, Burke said.
There will be a large multipurpose space to house student gatherings and lectures, as well as two student lounges — one inside and one outside. There will be a small gallery space for student artwork.
A second animation production studio in the new space will allow students to use digital video cameras to capture drawings, frame-by-frame, using traditional animation software. That software allows for animation and backgrounds to be painted and the characters to be synched with voice and music.
There will also be a new central printing facility for students, faculty, staff and alumni that will handle high-resolution printing, from 8.5 by 11 inches to 24 by 100 inches. Burke said the projects this facility can handle include banners, package design prototypes and posters, as well as print copies of drawings, paintings and photo shoots.
The printing facility will also provide equipment check out for students, such as for iPads, laptops and a variety of cameras. It will offer hardware and software repair services.
Organic Growth
The college has 550 full-time students, including undergraduate and graduate students. Tuition is approximately $29,000 a year for a full-time bachelor’s degree student, and $31,000 a year for a full-time master’s-level student.
Enrollment growth is about 2% a year, Burke said. The goal is to get to 650 students, “whenever that happens,” he added.
The college offers a bachelor of fine arts degree in 12 majors and four master of fine arts graduate degrees.
Animation and game art jockey for the most popular undergrad major, Burke said.
“Animation and game art studios from all over the country seek LCAD students because they are talented and creative storytellers able to combine technique and concept to create characters and experiences that inspire and entertain,” he said.
The college is “one of an elite number of institutions that has both regional accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and national accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design,” he said.
