Latin American artifacts are closer to a new, permanent home in San Francisco after a plan to build a museum cleared an important step Thursday, when the Planning Commission approved an environmental study for a new development at 706 Mission St.
The Mexican Museum was formed in 1975 by artist Peter Rodriguez in the Mission district, and the facility moved to a temporary site at Fort Mason in 1982. It has remained there since, amassing a collection of more that 14,000 objects that span from pre-Hispanic times to the present.
The developer, Millennium Partners, proposes to remodel a historic building at Third and Mission streets and build a new 550-foot tower on what is now a vacant plot adjacent to the Contemporary Jewish Museum. The $170 million project would connect the new tower to the old 10-story building.
The building’s ground floor would contain retail or a restaurant, the next four floors would house the museum, and the rest would contain up to 215 residential units and office space. The museum’s four floors would triple the exhibit space it currently has at Fort Mason.
