His neighbors kept him from building a film studio, so George Lucas is building a huge low-income housing development on his Bay Area property instead.
Lucas submitted plans Wednesday to build 224 low-income homes on 52 acres of his idyllic 1,000 acre California ranch, the Daily Mail reports. He designed and is funding the $200 million housing project.
Lucas had to scrap an earlier plan to build a film studio in 2012 after opposition from neighbors, who said they didn’t want to be viewed an “evil empire.” But they’re apparently unable to stop the housing development, his lawyers say, because Lucas is funding it and has the right to choose who lives in the homes.
Lucas “said ‘we’ve got enough millionaires here,'” his lawyer Gary Giacomini told CBS News. “‘What we need is some houses for regular working people.'”
Lucas plans to build one complex with 120 two-bedroom and three-bedroom homes for low-income families, and another four-story building with 104 one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments for pensioners.
The community would be down the road from his 3,000 acre Skywalker ranch. When that ranch was built decades ago, neighbors also complained, saying it would bring in tourists and loud visitors. That time, they were unsuccessful.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.