Maguire Straddles Fence in School Bidding

Los Angeles developer Rob Maguire has always been a big booster of downtown. But which downtown?

Maguire finds himself in an awkward position as the cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena compete to attract the prestigious Art Center College of Design to their respective downtowns. Art Center, which has been located in the Linda Vista section of Pasadena for more than 20 years, is looking to move all or part of its operations and nearly 2,000 students and staff as part of an ambitious expansion.

In Pasadena, Maguire Partners and city officials are proposing that Art Center build about 75,000 square feet of exhibition, meeting and retail space as part of a much larger Maguire project planned for the northwest corner of Colorado Boulevard and Los Robles Avenue.

Meanwhile, in downtown Los Angeles, Maguire executives played a key role in lining up civic support behind a proposal to build an urban campus for Art Center on Bunker Hill near the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Disney Concert Hall, now under construction.

“We want all of the businesses that are located in Los Angeles to be successful” wherever they operate, said Rocky Delgadillo, who heads the city of Los Angeles’ Business Team. “But . . . we would prefer that they invest in our city.”

Maguire Partners spokeswoman Peggy Moretti said, “It’s natural to consider Pasadena first. But there is a possibility that it wouldn’t work there. In that case, Maguire Partners would definitely support the Bunker Hill location.”

The stakes are high for both cities. Losing Art Center would be a notable blow to Pasadena’s civic pride and prestige. Bringing the bodies and energy of a major art school to downtown Los Angeles would prove a big boost for efforts to revitalize the central city.

The rival civic efforts--usually reserved for attracting major corporate headquarters--illustrate the growing importance cities place on cultural and educational facilities, Art Center President Richard Koshalek said.

“Cultural institutions are without a doubt more valued by the political leadership of cities as major and vital assets,” said Koshalek, who once headed the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.

Maguire has also played a prominent role in supporting cultural institutions and promoting their importance to the community. “He knows the value of Art Center to downtown Los Angeles or to downtown Pasadena,” Koshalek said.

But the civic competition poses a dilemma for Maguire because he and his firm have strong business and social ties to Los Angeles and to Pasadena.

The silver-haired developer is a close friend of Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and has played a major role in the redevelopment of downtown Los Angeles. In fact, his high-rise headquarters is a short walk from the proposed Art Center campus on Grand Avenue at First Street.

Maguire’s firm has also been active in Pasadena, where it built Plaza Las Fuentes, a 185,000-square-foot office complex and 350-room Doubletree Hotel in 1989. Plaza Las Fuentes sits immediately north of where Maguire has proposed building a new 350,000-square-foot commercial complex and the Art Center satellite.

Blurring the lines and loyalties even further is the role of Maguire partner Timothy H. Walker. The real estate executive, an Art Center graduate, is in charge of the firm’s Pasadena development. But Walker, who chairs downtown Los Angeles’ business improvement district, was one of the first prominent leaders to suggest that Art Center relocate to Bunker Hill.

Walker said the firm and Pasadena are discussing the specifics of a proposal that will be submitted to Art Center this month. The school, which has also requested a proposal from Los Angeles, is expected to make a decision by the end of July.

“We are intrigued with it,” Walker said. “It’s almost a natural for the school and city [Pasadena] to consider the site. We just happened to own the parcel.”

Maguire was not available for an interview.

Boosters in downtown Los Angeles, while eager to lure away Art Center from Pasadena, remained pragmatic about Maguire’s dual role as ally and rival. “These are natural conflicts that come with the territory when you have a major developer,” said Carol Schatz, president of the Central City Assn.