New Lucasfilm Campus Breaks Ground at Presidio

GuyMannDude writes "Lucasfilm has broken ground on the new $300 million special effects campus that he hopes will help San Francisco rival Hollywood as a producer of movie magic. Some see the project as a way for the Presidio (a national park) to become economically self-sufficient while critics claim that level of commercialization is unnecessary."

Comments

might have been cheaper

[alizard]

This might have been more cost-effective and a lot less hassle than trying to expand further in Marin County. There probably isn't that much commercial space in a single blob in the surrounding cities for sale either s buildings or developable.

Particularly since Marin is wall-to-wall NIMBY and upscale enough to make it stick both politically and in local courts. Of course I'm an ex-resident.

While land further north in Sonoma County would have been cheaper, there are certain resources in San Francisco that Lucas probably didn't want to be any further away from. The other case for the Presidio is that it's about as close to the Golden Gate Bridge as one can get, and the commute hassles involved with SF get more unpleasant as one gets further into the city... check a large scale street map and see where the freeways are and aren't to get the idea.

Even post-dot-bomb, there probably isn't enough loose commercial space in the art/media community South of Market for the company physically to fit. 850K square feet is close to 20 acres.

So if Lucas wants a reasonable commute and given the other parameters, this actually makes sense for him. Though possibly not for the park or the surrounding community.