Lakefront Protection Group To File Federal Lawsuit Challenging Site Of Lucas Museum

CHICAGO (CBS) --Mayor Emanuel's plan to allow filmmaker George Lucas to build a museum on the lakefront will be challenged in court, reports WBBM's Bob Roberts

The challenge is coming from the group Friends of the Parks. It has criticized the Lucas Museum proposal since the location was first announced. The group has scheduled a news conference in the morning on the museum and Friends President Cassandra Francis is confirming that it will file suit in federal court to try to block its construction.

Francis says she's not against the concept for the museum -- just the location. She also questions how it will come at the stated $300-million cost, when that was the same price tag for a museum a quarter of the size in San Francisco.

The museum would be built in an area now occupied by Soldier Field parking lots. The group has said that construction of the museum would defy the Lakefront Protection Ordinance, which bans on private development east of Lake Shore Drive.

Earlier this month, renderings of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art were released. The design is by Ma Yansong and Beijing-based MAD Architects.

The privately financed museum could be completed as soon as 2018. Lucas initially sought to build the attraction in San Francisco, but ended up selecting Chicago in part because his wife, Mellody Hobson, is from that city.