Specs of the week: Chihuly museum proposed at Seattle Center

Chihuly museum proposed at Seattle Center
Seattle Center's Fun Forest, a small children's fun park at the base of the Space Needle, may soon be replaced by a 44,000 square foot museum for famed glass artist Dale Chihuly. Chihuly is the same artist who created the large glass sculpture in the Pigott Atrium.

The project for this new exhibit has an estimated cost of $15 million but could attract up to 1,000 visitors per day. The city would have to lease an additional acre of land to house the exhibit, which could potentially hold up to $50 million worth of Chihuly artwork, according to a Chihuly spokesperson.

Seattle city council members are currently debating whether building the museum will come at the cost of a more open park area, which would contribute to a more natural public setting.

The original plan was to eventually plant trees and create open space at the base of the Space Needle, where the proposed paid-admission museum would be built. Mayor Mike McGinn said that the new museum would be an excellent way of generating income for the center, which already generates more than two-thirds of its own budget.

The 43 foot tall exhibit space would include a restaurant, multiple galleries for Chihuly art and stores to sell additional Chihuly artwork. The initial plan was presented to the city's design commission in November. The design was approved by the commission and is currently waiting for approval from the city council. The project could begin as soon as spring 2011, and admission would most likely range from $12 to $14.

Plans to remove the Fun Forest are already in effect. Its major rides were taken down and the southern portion will be completely gone after Labor Day.

Budget cuts have slowed down other planned upgrades to the center, but the project would be funded by the Wright family, the builders and owners of the Space Needle. No public funds would go into the project aside from the cost of the 30 year lease for the site.

Other notable Chihuly pieces include the Bridge of Glass in Tacoma as well as works in the Seattle Art Museum, Tacoma Union Station, and Benaroya Hall.

Boeing becomes sole bidder in Air Force tanker contract
The aerospace companies Northrop Grumman and Boeing have long competed for a $40 billion contract to build air refueling tanker planes for the U.S. Air Force. Northrop Grumman removed itself from the bidding Monday, leaving Boeing with no competition in proposing a per tanker price to the Pentagon.

If the company sets the price too high, then the Air Force will most likely look to other avenues to build its air tanker fleet. If the price is too low, Boeing will swallow the cost of each tanker produced, if production costs climb too high.

With no competition, Boeing is expected to target a higher price range, though it might be scrutinized for potentially taking advantage of the lack of competitive pricing.

"This competition was supposed to be a model for future procurement," said Issaquah-based aviation analyst Scott Hamilton. "It's clear the Department of Defense fell short again in running a procurement process that works."

The contract would supply the Air Force with approximately 179 air tankers, meant to provide fuel to military planes flying on long distance missions. The contract would also supply the Everett region with 2,000 additional jobs and 6,000 more jobs statewide, according to initial Boeing estimates.

The estimated $40 million contract proposed by the government prices each plane at $196 million in addition to $5 billion in operating costs. Boeing previously proposed a $23.5 billion contract in 2002 for 100 aircraft, but the Pentagon refused the deal.

Spokespeople for Northrup Grumman cited increased projected production costs as the reason for their withdrawal of an estimated $184 million per plane. The company was also reportedly put off by the fixed price nature of the contract, which would disallow Grumman from modifying the price of each plane should production costs rise, a danger Boeing would face if it accepts the contract.

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