Civic Center Building Gets Final Go-ahead

By Jorge Casuso

The developer of a key Civic Center office building has beaten a Dec. 31 deadline to pull a permit for what promises to be a prominent landmark just south of the Santa Monica pier.

Maguire Partners obtained the building permit Dec. 21 after presenting final revisions to its four-story project. The Planning Commission approved the proposed building at 1733 Ocean Avenue on Dec. 1 following months of controversy.

The developers, who had ten years to present architectural plans and pull a building permit, charged that some city officials - including Councilman Ken Genser and Planning Commissioner Kelly Olsen -- had intentionally delayed the process in order to kill the project. Genser has called the allegations "ridiculous."

Before the permits were granted, the Planning Commission required the architects to submit a series of changes to make the exterior of the 68,000-square-foot building more pedestrian-friendly.

The changes were spurred by a nearby resident, who appealed an Architectural review Board decision to approve the project. The appellant, Ellen Brennan, along with a group of opponents that included Genser, contended that the project was not worthy of the site.

The context of the proposed building had changed after the city offered to buy the surrounding 13.1 acres from the RAND Corp. for $53 million, opponents said. Instead of being one of a number of buildings that was to be part of RAND's Civic Center Specific Plan, the proposed building likely will be flanked by parkland.

"They'll get a permit for a building that's unsuitable for this spot," predicted Brennan, who chairs the South Beach Neighborhood Association, before the final Planning Commission approval. "Whatever gets permitted there will get built there."