Dive Brief:
- Chicago nonprofit Friends of the Park has filed an updated lawsuit in federal court as part of its quest to keep filmmaker George Lucas from building a museum on the shores of Lake Michigan, ABC7 Chicago reported.
- The amended complaint focused on the ground lease agreement between the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and the Chicago Park District, which, according to the nonprofit, "would authorize the construction of a museum that would preclude the use of the trust property as free and open space with access to the activities on Lake Michigan." The ground lease agreement gives the museum a 99-year lease on the property for $10.
- The $300 million museum project, which includes 4.5 acres of new parkland and a 300,000-square-foot museum, funded entirely by Lucas, could start construction as early as next spring if the Chicago City Council and Plan Commission approve the plans.
Dive Insight:
A judge ordered Friends of the Park to file the amended complaint after the museum revised its plans to include more green space and a scaled-back design, ABC7 reported.
The nonprofit claims that the building site along Lake Michigan is "held by the state of Illinois as public trust property" and that the trust calls for the site to be preserved as "a natural resource and as a free and open space not occupied by a giant building," according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
Proponents of the museum point out that the site is now a parking lot, and Lee Bey, who was on the site selection committee for the museum, told Crain’s that, unlike a parking lot, the museum would be an asset with cultural and education potential.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel had offered the lakefront property to the "Star Wars" creator, who chose to build the museum in Chicago rather than in San Francisco.
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."
