A Deadline for Wonder

By Kathleen Gurnett

Here’s a riddle:

Manhattan, Atlanta, Boston and Los Angeles each have one. So do La Crosse, Wisconsin and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Brooklyn has the oldest one, and Indianapolis has the largest one. San Diego has one, too. Only you can’t see it.

What is it?

A children’s museum.

All of the great metropolises in the nation—and most of the smaller cities as well—have museums that cater to the youngest among us and help today’s fantasies become tomorrow’s reality. But because of rising construction costs and depleted funds, San Diego’s Children Museum & Art Center has no permanent home. And its time is running out.

The museum began life in a strip mall in La Jolla in 1981 when a grass-roots committee helped organize it. When it moved to a downtown warehouse in the Marina District in 1993, its attendance exploded, and it saw an increased diversity in its visitors. The Centre City Development Corporation arranged the lease of the building and its purchase of the city block on which it was situated. In 1999, negotiations began to facilitate the museum’s buying of the land from the CCDC. However, fund-raising fell short of the needed amount, so a deal was worked out in which the museum would sell off two-thirds of the block while retaining one-third for a new, state-of-the-art building for itself. It ended up selling the two-thirds to Canadian-based Pinnacle International, which began construction on the since-completed Pinnacle Museum Tower.

The plan for the museum calls for a facility that would host local and touring exhibits as well as a public programs space and café. The design from the renowned architectural firm of Rob Wellington Quigley utilizes environmentally friendly technology, including recycled building materials. There would be a three-story atrium and glass panels for natural light. The programs would include art galleries, a clay studio, a cultural heritage series and an artist-in-residence. A 1-acre Children’s Museum Park would lie across from the building, with landscaping from Martin Poirier of Spurlock-Poirier.

From the proceeds of the land sale, the museum dug the foundation and built the parking structure. Then the money ran out—and a small clause in the purchase contract suddenly became a nightmare. The CCDC—in its mission to oversee redevelopment efforts in the city—has the option to take back the land for $10 if the museum fails to complete the planned facility.

It didn’t seem like much to worry about five years ago, according to Jason Hughes, president of the museum’s board of directors. But as funding became problematic and construction costs skyrocketed, the money to build the museum was not to be found. Officially, the deadline ended in May; the CCDC has given the museum a temporary reprieve until December 15. Hughes has been negotiating with an area bank to get a construction loan so that building can get under way. The loans can be secured if the museum can show $5 million in pledges.

“It’s kind of a catch-22,” says Hughes. “If we can’t show them a building, people are concerned about where their money is going. If we don’t get the money, we can’t start building.”

The loans would be structured with a two-year construction loan that would kick in as soon as mid-December, plus a five-year takeout or mini-permanent loan amortized over 25 years. The new construction bid comes in at about $13 million, and the loan has an interest reserve for payments during the 16-month construction process.

Hughes got involved about 18 months ago when an acquaintance asked him to serve on the board with him. “I was skeptical,” he says. “It’s basically a money issue. That goes for most boards. It’s like boarding the Titanic. It’s not something anybody really wants to do.” He committed to take over as president of the board this past May—at the same time CCDC had the right to take over the property.

He went about trying to right the ship by systematically completing time-critical objectives—the most challenging of which involved organizing the construction financing. “It’s like financing a start-up company,” he says of trying to obtain funding. “There’s no revenue because of course there are no visitors, no attendance.”

Hughes emphasizes that the museum as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts. “More families are moving to the downtown area,” he says. “We need a family environment down here.” He points out the museum would be the jewel of the Marina District. Even in its earlier inception, the museum was used as a model for new children’s museums. “We’re talking about a world-class facility now,” he says. “We could recruit staff from around the country.”

The temporary tax laws Congress passed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina allow donors to deduct 100 percent of charitable donations until December 31. Also, a pledge would not need to be a lump sum to be considered part of the security for the loans. Rather, the total amount could be spread out over the seven years of the loan schedule.

If the sense of wonder is to last a lifetime, it needs to be nurtured from the beginning.

To discuss donating to the San Diego Children’s Museum & Art Center, contact Jason Hughes at 619-238-4954 or JasonH@irvinghughes.com.