Dive Brief:
- In an attempt to get the $400 million Lucas Museum of Narrative Art started by the deadline in its lease with the Chicago Park District — and before California can lure Star Wars director George Lucas away with an Oakland, CA, location — city attorneys have requested that a federal judge lift a site ban on construction, according to the Chicago Tribune.
- Even if the project is given the go-ahead, museum and Park District officials have not yet submitted required documents — including plans for work at the site, a budget estimate and alternate parking plans for Chicago Bears fans on game days — to the Department of Buildings.
- These obstacles leave in doubt the ability of officials to meet the April 15 document-filing "contingency expiration date" of the lease agreement, which would leave Lucas and the city free to go their separate ways.
Dive Insight:
After Lucas' plans to build his 300,000 square foot art and film museum in San Francisco were derailed, Chicago snapped up the opportunity to lease him the prime trust property site along Lake Michigan. However, the Chicago nonprofit Friends of the Park has sued to prevent the project from going forward, claiming the development would prevent public access to lakefront activities and general use of the land as "free and open space."
The Friends of the Park have also been waiting on city officials to provide them with site selection documents as part of the proceedings.
Northwestern University land use attorney Nadav Shoked told the Tribune that it’s surprising no one has filed construction documents, given that the planning for the museum is so far along and that city officials are trying to lift the construction ban in an effort to fast-track the project.
Although Shoked said that both the city and Lucas can negotiate around the lease provisions — and the city can live without the $99 lease agreement — city leaders, and in particular Mayor Rahm Emanuel, value the cachet of having the museum in Chicago and the tourist dollars it could bring. In fact, last October The Chicago Law Department said in a statement, "This museum is a substantial investment in Chicago's cultural scene that will create green space, billions of dollars in local economic impact and hundreds of construction and permanent jobs."