NEW BRUNSWICK DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Aprit 1, 2016 Mr. George Lucas Lucasfilm, Ltd. 1110 Gorgas Avenue Building C-Hr San Francisco, CA 94129 Dear Mr. Lucas: Your plans for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Is both inspirational and visionary. It must be very disheartening to have met with opposition to your plans in both San Francisco and Chicago. | thought you might want a solid Plan B in your back pocket should the current law Suit against LMNA not result in your favor: there would be absolutely no opposition to siting the LMNA in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Itis remarkable that you have met with any opposition at all for this stunning cultural initiative. Nonetheless, New Brunswick, New Jersey has the foresight, the ability, the experience, and the perfect location to bring your dream to reality. Our city, located on the Raritan River and home to Rutgers University, is within an hour's drive of 20 million people and has direct access to rall service from Boston to Washington D. close to Newark Liberty International Airport and only 40 minutes from New York City by train. New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco) has a long history of successfully undertaking exciting redevelopment projects both here and throughout New Jersey. As a nonprofit redeveloper, we take great pride in bringing innovative redevelopment projects like LMNA to fruition, We are currently developing a 1.8 million square foot center of innovation space at The Hub @ New Brunswick Station. LMINA would be an extraordinary centerpiece for this vibrant, mixed-use destination and we would be pleased to expand the vision to make this happen. Please feel free to reach out to me to discuss this matter further, if you believe it would be productive. Best, Christopher J. Paladino President ce: The Hon, James M. Cahill, Mayor, City of New Brunswick Daniel J. Loughlin, international Director, Jones Lang LaSalle Glenn Patterson, Director, Planning, Community & Economic Developmentbs. 3 ‘George Lucas's Museum Flan Inspires ‘Clout Pais In Chicago The New York Times The New York Eimes — hitp:inys.ms’22P4mze us. George Lucas’s Museum Plan Inspires ‘Clout Politics’ in Chicago By JULIE BOSMAN MARCI 26, 2016 CHICAGO — Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been publicly subdued in recent months, his caustic temperament largely under wraps as Chicago struggles through problems on all sides: a crime wave, financial troubles, public distrust and a struggle over civil rights. But one local issue, pitting environmentalists against a Hollywood. director and local power brokers in a battle over lakefront land, has drawn out signs of the old and combative Mr. Emanuel. And it has turned a faded parking lot of crumbling asphalt into one of the most fiercely contested pieces of land here. ‘The filmmaker George Lucas envisions that lot as the site of an undulating, futuristic showpiece of a museum devoted to narrative art, with three theaters and a 4,200-square-foot library. Local activists see it as a precious piece of Chicago's waterfront, a place of open views and public ownership. They have sued to block plans to build the museum. Mr. Emanuel has sided with Mr. Lucas, portraying the museum as a prize for Chicago, a singular cultural attraction and a shiny new addition to ipuhwavrytmes.com/2016Na27usimusoum-planinsrires-cticago clout patties. #=0ssv2016 ‘George Lucas’s Museum Plan inspires ‘CleutPalics in Chicago The New York Times Chicago's expansive lakefront that he hopes will give the city an economic boost. He has been cautious in his public comments since the release of a video in November depicting the shooting of a black man, Laquan McDonald, by the police. The video set off furious dissent that reached as far as the streets outside Mr. Emanuel’s home on the North Side. But he has reacted to the lakefront dispute vigorously and, at points, sarcastically, mockingly dismissing Friends of the Parks, the group that filed suit to block the project, as “Friends of the Parking Lot.” On a recent radio show he denounced the group, saying it was endangering the project by foreing “q legal fight to preserve a parking lot.” “1 know where I stand,” Mr. Emanuel said. “I would like the lawsuit to go away so we can turn a parking lot into a museum. It’s not that great a parking lot, trust me.” ‘The plan has hit a nerve in Chicago, where in 1836 it was mandated that the lakefront be public ground to remain “forever open, clear and free.” “We think it’s ridiculous that the city of Chicago would essentially give away such an amaving public asset,” said Juanita Irizarry, the executive director of Friends of the Parks. “Our lakefront is our jewel. Many folks really appreciate that and value that.” In the tradition of powerful Chicago mayors, Mr. Emanuel has already shepherded the project through the City Council. The Chicago Park District and the city Plan Commission have all approved plans for the museum, and construction was scheduled to begin this spring, But in February, Judge John W. Darrah of United States District Court refused to dismiss a 2014 lawsuit filed by Friends of the Park against Chicago to block the project. The suit argues that leasing the land to the museum is phew ryimes.com/20 6t0az7tusmuseun-pla-Inspires-chicagociou-paies Html r=0 2512018 George Luces's Muscum Fan nepiresClautPalics' In Chicago The Now York Tinos illegal. For Mr, Lucas, creator of the original “Star Wars” series, the battle is a bit of a sequel. In 2014, he pulled back from building his museum in San Francisco amid another furious community battle and after local officials rejected a proposal to construct the building on a prime piece of bayside land in the Presidio. Once San Francisco encouraged the project to go elsewhere, Mr. Lucas and his wife, the businesswoman Mellody Hobson, moved to bring the museum to her hometown. ‘The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art would hold items from Mr. Lucas’s art collection, Norman Rockwell illustrations, paintings and photography. It would also explore the history of film and host screenings, lectures and workshops, museum officials said. Few people object to the content. It is the lakefront location that has them up in arms. “there is this great historic legacy of the lakefront as a public amenity, which really is deeply embedded in the consciousness of Chicago,” said Philip Bess, an architecture professor at the University of Notre Dame, “At the same time, it’s in keeping with the history of Chicago that what happens on the Jakefront depends on who has the power and authority. It’s Chicago clout polities.” Friends of the Parks would like to see the land turned into a natural sanctuary. Ms. Irizarry said she was especially irked that the museum was offered the land practically free, a 99-year lease for $10, with the option to renew twice. ‘The museum’s planners have argued that the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art would be built in an area of the lakefront that is already heavily developed rpvcrytimes.com 20 "602TIuaimuscum-plannspires-ctieago-cioutputics.snl?s=0 362016 George Lucae's Museum Pian Inspires “Cut Pals In Chicago ~The New York Times — within walking distance of Soldier Field, the Shedd Aquarium, the Field ‘Museum and the Adler Planetarium. One of the hulking structures of McCormick Place, a large convention center, is just to the south of where the museum would be built. “it’s hardly an inviolate landscape anyway,” said Henry 8. Bienen, a former Northwestern University president who is a member of the museum's board, “You're talking about a huge amount of buildings that are already there, some right on the lake. George’s museum would not obscure views of the lake.” He described the museum's chances of being built in Chicago as “seriously” endangered by the lawsuit. ‘An increasingly frustrated group of people have recently argued that the museum should pick another site within the city. Thomas Hickey, a Chicago architect, even independently produced rough plans that would move the museum to the other side of Lake Shore Drive, which runs behind the land on the waterfront. ‘Mr. Emanuel sees the museum as no threat to lakefront access, nor a plight on the waterfront. “The Lucas Museum will offer incredible educational, cultural and economic opportunities in addition to adding more green space to the city,” Shannon Breymaier, a spokeswoman for Mr. Emanuel, said in an email. “Mayor Emanuel will continue to fight to ensure the museum and those benefits stay here in Chicago.” Friends of the Parks and the city are expected back in court in April. As for the mayor's “Friends of the Parking Lot” comment, the group has been restrained. “There is a parking lot on it at the moment,” Ms. Trizarry said. “But we see it as an opportunity to someday have beautiful green space.” ‘A version of this article appears in print on March 27, 2016, on page A14 af the New York edition neptune. com/20109!27hvlmuseun-Hansnpires-cricag-clauplies tml? s=0 45 | | | jaoun0i8 George Lucas's Museum Flan spires ‘Clout Puites' in Chicago ~ The New York Times with the headline; Museum Plan Inspires ‘Chicago Clout Politics” © 2016 The New York Times Company nips ryimes.com/Z01004Z7huimuseumplarinsriree-chicago-clut-paltes mt? r=0 co |