For nearly 60 years, the RAND Corporation had occupied about one-third of Santa Monica’s 45-acre (18 ha) civic center district, a prominent site adjacent to the city’s business and government centers, served by a variety of regional transportation options, and on the land side of the coastal highway. Its headquarters building at 1700 Main Street had grown over the years to include two primary buildings as well as several modular ad hoc structures. But by the mid-1980s, RAND’s need for more space and the city’s vision of a revitalized civic district incorporating affordable and market-rate housing, neighborhood retail, and new public parks had begun to converge.

In 1989, the two parties began to explore innovative ways to meet their convergent needs. Following a process that included extensive interaction with the public and a citywide vote, it was agreed that RAND would retain a 3.7-acre (1.5 ha) parcel for a new headquarters building and sell the bulk of its property to the Santa Monica Redevelopment Agency. In late 1999, RAND sold 11.7 acres (4.7 ha) to the agency for $53 million, with the proviso that it could occupy its old building for up to six more years. In October 2000, following a yearlong entitlement process, a development agreement for RAND’s new headquarters was approved. Construction began in July 2002, occupancy commenced in October 2004, and the old headquarters building was demolished—and the land turned over to the municipal agency—in 2007.

Owner
The RAND Corporation
Santa Monica, CA

Architect
DMJM Design
Los Angeles, CA

Landscape Architect
Mia Lehrer & Associates
Los Angeles, CA

Principal Author(s)
Julie Stern

ULI Awards for Excellence 2007 Winner