Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Lucasfilm has had enough of Marin County


Oakland Tribune/Nels Johnson/Marin Indedpedent Journal, 4/11/12.  "George Lucas stuns Marin, pulls plug on movie studio project." "

Lucasfilm pulled the plug on its bid to develop the old Grady Ranch on Tuesday, citing bitter opposition from neighbors and regulatory delays, and said it intends to sell the land for a low-income subdivision development. Saying it was withdrawing the project "with great sadness," Lucasfilm added it will build the production studio facilities it needs elsewhere.
Skywalker Ranch, Marin County

The stunning move cheered project foes who called the ranch site near their homes the wrong place for a film production studio with a footprint the size of two football fields. But county officials and business interests were devastated, noting the project promised to energize the Marin economy, providing millions in revenue and hundreds of jobs.

"We have several opportunities to build the production stages in communities that see us as a creative asset, not as an evil empire, and if we are to stay on schedule we must act on those opportunities," Lucasfilm said it a statement headlined, "Lucasfilm pulls building plans out of Marin."

"The level of bitterness and anger expressed by the homeowners in Lucas Valley has convinced us that, even if we were to spend more time and acquire the necessary approvals, we would not be able to maintain a constructive relationship with our neighbors," the firm owned by billionaire filmmaker George Lucas added. "We love working and living in Marin, but the residents of Lucas Valley have fought this project for 25 years, and enough is enough," Lucasfilm said. "Marin is a bedroom community and is committed to building subdivisions, not business. Many years ago, we tried to stop the Lucas Valley Estates project from being built, but we failed, and we now have a subdivision on our doorstep."

"Hey George, wanna buy a quarry?"
Lucas Valley Estates neighbors were the most vocal opponents of the Lucas project. Lucasfilm said that after years of delays and "no end in sight," the firm plans to build the production studios it needs elsewhere -- and put the Grady Ranch up for sale to developers. Some 232 homes were proposed for the property in 1974, but Lucas blocked residential development when he bought the land. "We plan to sell the Grady property, expecting that the land will revert back to its original use for residential housing," Lucasfilm said. "We hope we will be able to find a developer who will be interested in low-income housing since it is scarce in Marin. If everyone feels that housing is less impactful on the land, then we are hoping that people who need it the most will benefit."

County supervisors approved a master plan for a bigger Lucas project at the Grady Ranch 16 years ago, but it never was built. Revisions to the master plan that reduced the project's impact on the environment were unanimously approved by county planners, but approval by county supervisors was delayed last month following last-minute concerns by state and federal regulatory agencies about the filmmaker's plan for a $50 million to $70 million creek restoration project. Project boosters noted the project's demise was a multimillion dollar blow to Marin's economy and scuttles the prospect of 700 jobs during construction alone, as well as several hundred more high-paying film industry jobs.Read more.

Reference - Lucasfilm, LTD, Related article - Los Angeles Times. Television report - CBS San Francisco, 4/10/12 includes embedded video, 2:19 minutes.

Submitted by Jim Alex

Posted by Kathy Meeh

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey George, wanna buy a quarry? he

Kathy Meeh said...

Hey Anon 311, I just added your comment to the Yoda picture. Good wisecrack for wise Yoda.

Anonymous said...

happy to serve

Hutch said...

Ha I thought the same thing until I remembered the NIMBY's

mike bell said...

Seriously.
Chamber, Council (2.5), Realtors, anybody - get the quarry in front of Lucas. As long as he doesn't build houses nobody can stop him.

Hutch said...

That's true Mike. I'd love to see a bunch of warehouses in Pete loebs back yard. Ha.

Does Peebles still own the property? This would actually be a boon for us.

Anonymous said...

My post of "Hey George, wanna buy a quarry?" wasn't made entirely in jest although it does make a funny caption for Kathy's Yoda.
Mike Bell is right. Why doesn't someone with real expertise on the subject run with it? Find out if LucasFilm already has another site, what they want, etc? The article doesn't mention another site.
Bet the finance company would love to unload the quarry. LucasFilm has lots of experience with regulatory agencies.
What do we have to lose?

Anonymous said...

"As long as he doesn't build houses nobody can stop him." He only has to get past the Coastal Commission, US Fish & Wildlife, California Fish & Game, and State Mining Board. Other than that, nobody can stop him.

Peebles does not own the property. I believe it's still owned by the finance company that made a non-recourse loan to Peebles. He defaulted on the loan and walked away with a profit, leaving the finance company holding the bag, I mean the quarry.

Anonymous said...

"Find out if LucasFilm already has another site, what they want, etc? The article doesn't mention another site."

But it does mention that "We have several opportunities to build the production stages in communities that see us as a creative asset, not as an evil empire, and if we are to stay on schedule we must act on those opportunities."

Anonymous said...

Yes anon@956, the article does say they have several opportunities and implies a sense of urgency. However, it does not say they have chosen one of those several opportunities. With their facilities in Marin, the Presidio, and elsewhere, they know far more about regulatory agencies than anyone on here. Seems like the community welcome is the key ingredient for them.
Again, what does Pacifica have to lose by asking questions?

mike bell said...

LucasFilm Quarry would be an easy 15-20 minute shuttle to LucasFilm Presidio. Along the Great Highway no less.

Ahh yes. Think about it. Beautiful Pacifica, Gateway to the San Mateo County Coastline, in the movies!

Resist the resistors who love to preach why we CAN'T do something.

Anonymous said...

Mike Bell, I agree. "Hey George, you wanna buy a quarry?" is no joke. You working on it, Mike? Put us on their radar. Seems like just the kind of area they like to work in. Peaceful and scenic for the creative types, self-contained, and close enough to the MotherShip in Marin and the Presidio facility. At least put the quarry on their radar. You or someone with some business skills and/or RE connections should just check it out. What do we have to lose? It's not city-owned so council can't muck it up.
Again, what do we have to lose?

Anonymous said...

Over dinner with George I happened to mention driving down the coast to Santa Cruz to go to a sound editing session and Devil's slide came up. He looked at his wine glass and said, "Ah yes, Pacifica. Deliverance, with an ocean breeze." I don't think he's coming.

Hutch said...

Deliverance is his favorite movie...

de de dede dede dede deeeee

Steve Sinai said...

Back off. The quarry is reserved for a Premium Outlet mall.

Hutch said...

They just replied to me.

Hi Bob,

Thank you for being in touch about a potential site for our studio facility. Seeing communities like yours that welcome Lucasfilm as a positive economic and cultural asset reaffirms our commitment to our work, our employees and to our existing and future neighbors. Our current production projects require that we act quickly to build our new production facility in order to stay on schedule. We currently have several promising opportunities under consideration. Because of this, we are not pursuing any new sites or locations at this time.

Thank you again,

Lucasfilm Public Relations

mike bell said...

Thanks for the effort Hutch.
Pacifica has so much untapped potential. Given our location and natural assets, being on the brink of bankruptcy is shameful.

Hutch said...

I know Mike. Who is hawking the City? Someone should be out there contacting developers and Realtors about our many properties available. Does the Chamber do this? Council?

Anonymous said...

Now that's funny. Real or bogus letter, I guess you could say we missed the bus...again. Wait a minute, do we even have bus service anymore in this disintegrating town? Well, rest assured, if there was an opportunity, we missed it. We're Pacifica!

Anonymous said...

Oh no, no, no. This city doesn't "hawk" its property. Like the OWWTP. Good Lord, what if a developer actually wanted to develop it? I mean wanted to spend his money on his ideas. Oh the horror! Better we take years and spend a million bucks on consultants at the OWWTP doing fairy-tale show-and-tells to discourage the wrong sort of developer, ie, any and all. Those consultants need to eat. Maybe we can fool the public long enough that Beach Blvd erodes away and nothing gets built. Park!!

Private property owners rarely build parks so maybe the quarry owners want to pursue their own plans when it suits them. Til then the accountants can handle it.

Anonymous said...

It's not like LucasFilm is the only game although I would dearly love to see Yoda take over Pacifica. Plenty of high-tech and low-tech firms paying sky high commercial rents in the city and outgrowing their space. Bart shuttles and plenty of parking in the quarry. An office campus would bring less income for the city than Sinai's Premium Outlets but more than what we have now. I wonder though, is this property even for sale? Listed anywhere?

Anonymous said...

The IJ and others say Marin County is scrambling to get George Lucas to change his mind but his peeps say the decision to abandon the Grady Ranch project in Lucas Valley was made in February and is final. Lucasfilm spokesperson said that
" 2 cities have reached out offering substantial incentives".

Meanwhile, Lucasfilm is already in talks to sell the 1039 acre Grady Ranch property which it has owned since 1985. Project plans included 800 acres dedicated to public open space and another 187 acres as private open space.
How big a project was it? Hundreds of millions spent during construction and once built, projected to produce tens of millions yearly in revenue for local gov't and add hundreds of high-paying, permanent jobs to the local economy. LucasFilm planned a 3 story 263,000SF digital media production facility with underground parking for 202 cars and 24 bikes, guest suites, 2 indoor and 1 outdoor production stages, cafeteria, general store, etc.
Gotta love the part about "2 cities have reached out offering substantial incentives". I doubt those offers came from a guy on a blog with no authority--but lots of good intentions--in a brain dead city.

Dodged another bullet, Pacifica!

Steve Sinai said...

"I wonder though, is this property even for sale? Listed anywhere?"

Isn't there a big "For Sale" sign on Highway 1 next to the quarry, or did they take that down? I haven't been paying attention.

Anonymous said...

What company name is on the sign, anybody? None of us are paying attention and the property just sits. Just checking some of the real estate sites and there's quite a few Pacifica parcels listed, several on Palmetto or vicinity, but not the quarry.

Anonymous said...

That land is cursed. And I mean by more than just all the developers who were involved with it.

Anonymous said...

Why is it cured?

Anonymous said...

Because it's a ham.

Anonymous said...

haha, cursed