Move the Lucas Museum?

Chicago's City Council approved the construction of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in October 2015, but since then the project designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects has been on hold due to a lawsuit from Friends of the Parks. At issue is the museum's site on the city's lakefront, a strip of parkland considered by park advocates as public space meant to be free of development in perpetuity. The approved site of the museum (currently a parking lot) sits between two of the handful of buildings that nevertheless occupy lakefront land: Soldier Field and McCormick Place's Miesian Lakeside Center from 1971. Yet these precedents were not enough for a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, hence the delay.

Emanuel's proposal comes a couple months after speculation that Oakland, California, was being considered as an alternate location for the Star Wars maestro's museum. Although the mayor denied last month that Oakland or any other cities were competing with Chicago for the high-profile project (San Francisco initially turned down Lucas, leading to him selecting the Windy City in 2014), his proposal is being considered "the only hope to keep the Lucas Museum in Chicago." 

Emanuel is hoping Friends of the Parks will not block his "Hail Mary" proposal, since it involves demolishing a building often considered an eyesore and providing additional parkland along the lake. If park advocates do not agree to Emanuel's proposal, expect 71-year-old Lucas to look elsewhere, since he's expressed eagerness in getting the museum done and enjoying it during his lifetime.