After struggling almost twenty years, supporters of The Mexican Museum finally secured a permanent home but say they now face opposition from the neighboring Four Seasons Condo owners.
The new 52,000 square-foot space at 706 Mission, which was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors on July 23, is facing criticism over different facets of the museum’s construction plans.
Owners of the Four Seasons condos have fought the development of the museum at every step of its approval process; complaining about its height, cast shadow, as well as disorganization among the people behind the project.
Initially at issue was the structure’s planned height of 480 feet, representing the museum and a 47-story condominium tower—selling the developer the “air rights” above the museum was vital to securing funding for it.
Four Seasons condo owners challenged the tower based on negative impact to the view from their property and the developer reduced the height.
District 9 Supervisor David Campos said the developer’s willingness to compromise factored into the board’s unanimous approval of the tower.
“One of the reasons we all voted for it was because the height was lowered,” he said. “There’s some things in the development we aren’t all thrilled about—you are building luxury condominiums—but ultimately what this project is about is making the Mexican Museum a reality.”
Advocate of the Mexican Museum’s new home, Roberto Hernandez, said after failing to appeal several unanimous approvals by multiple city agencies, the condo owners changed their strategy.
“All of a sudden [they] started saying, ‘oh, this building is going to cast a shadow over Union Square’,” he said.
A shadow study cited in the Planning Departments assessment of the tower found that it would cast no new shadows on Yerba Buena Gardens and only increase shadow on Union Square before 9:30 a.m. by 0.22 percent—less than a quarter of one percent.
The Planning Department received dozens of letters from Four Seasons residents characterizing their assessment as “inadequate” and citing concerns about increased pedestrian and auto traffic.
A letter submitted by Ronald Wornick, who identified himself as “the founding and now-retired president of the Four Seasons Home Owners Association,” went as far as questioning the institution’s ability to see the project through.
In a letter sent to the Planning, Wornick claims that the museum has not made “one centimeter of progress in over ten years,” and has become a financial burden on the City.
“The Mexican Museum appears to not have a viable board, competent fundraising professionals or plans for how to support a significant operation budget should they ever build and occupy a museum… if there really is a museum,” Wornick wrote. “A very close look may suggest this is a sham.”
Contrary to opponents of the development, who are now threatening to take a “shadow ban” ordinance to the polls next spring, The Mexican Museum has earned nationwide recognition, being the only museum with official ties to the Smithsonian Institution. Its board of directors is chaired by philanthropist Andrew Kluger.
Efforts to contact Adam Alberti, spokesperson for the group promoting the shadow ban, garnered no response by press time.