Rumors have been flying this week that Mayor Ed Lee would endeavor to keep George Lucas's proposed $700 million cultural arts museum in San Francisco by offering Lucas a prime waterfront spot at Seawall Lot 33. Yesterday, the rumors were confirmed with a letter from Lee to Lucas officially offering up the location. There is room for a 200,000 to 300,000 square foot museum on the site. Lucas now has two waterfront sites - the one in San Francisco and another in Chicago - to choose from for his $1 billion collection of cultural arts and movie memorabilia. His original plan was to put the collection at a site in the Presidio, but the Presidio Trust voted down that plan.
The site is directly across the Embarcadero from Piers 30-32, which were until recently being targeted by the Golden State Warriors for their new home. In the Warriors' plan, Lot 330 was where a hotel and condo tower would have been built to help pay for the arena. The Warriors have moved on to Mission Bay and Mayor Lee in his letter flagged the piers as an opportunity for Lucas to partner with the city to create new educational and open public space. The location is right next to the Bay Bridge and around the corner from AT&T Park and Caltrain.
· It's Official: Mayor Ed Lee Offers Lot 330 Site to George Lucas as Museum Location [SF Business Times]