“Star Wars” creator George Lucas has submitted plans to the Marin County (Calif.) Development Agency to build 224 units of affordable workforce and senior housing on 52 acres at Grady Ranch.
This proposal is the latest broadside in an ongoing battle between Lucas and residents of this affluent neighborhood who, in the past, have blocked Lucas’s efforts to expand his production company, Lucasfilms. Two years years ago, Lucas also encountered opposition to his plan to sell land at Grady Ranch to a developer for affordable housing.
Lucas, who has owned land in Marin County since 1978 (that property is called Skywalker Ranch), said he would build the housing himself, but that project lost its financial backing in 2013. The Marin Independent Journal reported at the time that the costs for the project would fall somewhere between $120 million and $150 million.
Now, Lucas—whom Forbes estimates is worth $5.1 billion—says he will finance 100% of the housing project, according to Gary Giacomini, former county supervisor and an attorney for Skywalker Properties.
The initial reactions to Lucas’s latest proposal have been mixed, with one local supervisor worrying about the “cumulative impact” of a project that large on the community. Other supervisors see the proposal as an opportunity to make a dent in the county’s shortage of affordable housing. Thomas Peters, CEO of the Marin Community Foundation, called Lucas’ plan an “extraordinary offer” that underscores the filmmaker’s commitment to the housing needs of the vibrant workforce that drives the region’s vitality. (Ironically, the Foundation was the financial backer that bailed on Lucas’s housing plans two years ago.)
Lucas’s proposal call for 120 two- and three-bedroom workforce rental homes in one four-story cluster and two two-story clusters. There would also be 104 one- and two-bedroom residences for seniors in a four-story cluster, according to the Independent Journal. Zoning at Grady Ranch allows for up to 324 homes at this site, which is where Lucas had originally intended to expand his studio facilities.
The architect for this project is Robert W. Hayes of Sausalito, and the project is being coordinated and managed by PEP Housing of Petaluma, which developed Toussin Senior Apartments, an affordable complex that Hayes had designed.
Applicants for the workforce housing need to be earning less than 80% of the market’s median household income. The seniors applying for housing need to fall within 30% and 60% of that median. Quoting Census estimates, the Washington Post reports that 7.7% of the county’s residences live below its $90,839 median income level.
Related Stories
| Nov 7, 2014
Prefab helps Valparaiso student residence project meet an ambitious deadline
Few colleges or universities have embraced prefabrication more wholeheartedly than Valparaiso (Ind.) University. The Lutheran-based institution completed a $27 million residence hall this past summer in which the structural elements were all precast.
| Nov 3, 2014
Novel 'self-climbing' elevator operates during construction of high-rise buildings
The JumpLift system from KONE uses a mobile machine room that moves upward as the construction progresses, speeding construction of tall towers.
| Nov 3, 2014
Cairo's ultra-green mixed-use development will be topped with flowing solar canopy
The solar canopy will shade green rooftop terraces and sky villas atop the nine-story structure.
| Oct 31, 2014
Dubai plans world’s next tallest towers
Emaar Properties has unveiled plans for a new project containing two towers that will top the charts in height, making them the world’s tallest towers once completed.
| Oct 29, 2014
Better guidance for appraising green buildings is steadily emerging
The Appraisal Foundation is striving to improve appraisers’ understanding of green valuation.
| Oct 27, 2014
Studio Gang Architects designs residential tower with exoskeleton-like exterior for Miami
Jeanne Gang's design reinvents the Florida room with shaded, asymmetrical balconies.
| Oct 21, 2014
Passive House concept gains momentum in apartment design
Passive House, an ultra-efficient building standard that originated in Germany, has been used for single-family homes since its inception in 1990. Only recently has the concept made its way into the U.S. commercial buildings market.
| Oct 21, 2014
Perkins Eastman white paper explores state of the senior living industry in the Carolinas
Among the experts interviewed for the white paper, there was a general consensus that the model for continuing-care retirement communities is changing, driven by both the changing consumers and more prevalent global interest on the effects of aging.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
