Plans for the Lancaster Museum of Art's new home at North Queen and East Chestnut streets called for a grand, glass façade at the corner.
The space behind the two stories of recessed, clear glass was to be occupied by only a few artworks. It was intended to be an invitation to come inside and see more in the main part of the museum.
But now, the art museum is not moving into that planned 10,000-square-foot entryway, nor into the attached, existing building.
And Lancaster city planners want Red Rose Transit Authority to reconsider the design.
In a letter to RRTA delivered Thursday, planning commission members wrote "a redesign to accommodate a future commercial use should be considered at this time rather than modifying the façade at a later date for a commercial tenant."
The appointed planners are asking representatives of the public transit agency to come to their meeting next month to discuss the design of the building. The action was approved at the commission's Wednesday night meeting.
David Kilmer, Red Rose Transit Authority's executive director, said Thursday that there is nothing to talk about.
"It's too late to redesign it, and I don't have the money to redesign it," Kilmer said.
The design was approved by city officials last summer. Contracts were signed, and excavation work began in the fall. The pre-cast concrete sections that will support the building will be made beginning next week, when foundation work also is planned, he said.
"The work is already progressing."
Making changes now, particularly with the pre-cast concrete that will support the two-story glass atrium, would take three to six months and ultimately push construction back by a year or more, Kilmer estimated.
And, he said, it would be costly.
"All they've got to do is give me $1 million to redo the design and I'll do it," he quipped.
The planning commission does not have the authority to force changes in RRTA's plans. In fact, the planners last summer only approved the land development plans for the $15 million project.
RRTA's plans call for an expansion of its existing Queen Street Station, construction of a 395-space parking garage and the space that was to be leased to the art museum. The structure will be built so it can support later construction of a planned 38-unit condominium tower.
The design was reviewed by the city historical commission and approved by Lancaster City Council, said Paula Jackson, chief of the city's Planning Bureau.
While the historical commission would be a more appropriate venue to discuss design changes, that commission has not met since the Lancaster Museum of Art announced in January that it was pulling the plug on its planned move to the new space.
That announcement was prompted by financial considerations, museum Executive Director Stanley Grand said in January.
The museum board did not want to spend $8 million for renovation and finishing required for the North Queen Street space. After that initial investment, there would be increased overhead costs in maintaining the larger facility, he said.
Influencing the decision is the economic recession, a drop-off in donations and fundraising, and fewer grants being received, Grand had said.
Soon after the late-January announcement, planning commission members renewed their discussion of the project design.
In their letter, signed by planning commission Chairwoman Jean Weglarz, commission members noted that the glass wall planned for the corner is to have angled windows and an "asymmetrical window configuration" on the second level of the North Queen Street façade that had been justified by museum representatives "as important design elements for the functions of the art museum."
Other than another art-related use, how would that design work for another tenant? they wondered.
Kilmer believes it would. In fact, one perspective tenant he has spoken to was attracted to the site because of the glass atrium.
"It would give them a presence on that corner," he said of the appeal of the location.
Kilmer stands behind the design of the building.
"In my opinion, the design — regardless of what goes in there — complements the rest of the things going on in the downtown," he said.
Kilmer said he was both disappointed in the commission's position and shocked that he was not contacted about the matter in advance. He said the commission members are the only ones who have raised concerns.
"No one has expressed any concern about this design after it was approved," he said.
The next planning commission meeting, to which Kilmer is invited, is March 17, at 7:30 p.m., in Southern Market Center, 100 S. Queen St.
Kilmer said he is unable to attend. The monthly RRTA board meeting is scheduled at the same time. Asked if he would attend another future meeting, Kilmer responded: "I'd have to discuss it with my board."