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Feb 21, 2008 4:47 pm US/Central

SMU To Host Bush Presidential Library

Reporting
Jay Gormley

UNVIERSITY PARK (CBS 11 News) ― CBS 11 News has learned that SMU has reached an agreement with the Bush Foundation to host the George Bush Presidential Library.

Sources tell CBS 11 News that the school's board of trustees met today and will meet again tomorrow, at which time the group is expected to sign a 99-year lease agreement with the Foundation. The lease agreement has automatic extensions built into the deal.

The university has called a news conference on campus for noon Friday, presumably to announce the deal. SMU says the Bush Foundation is also confirming an agreement has been reached with the university.

A deposition, presented by SMU president Mark Langdale earlier this month, said the Bush Library will sit on land near the corner of SMU Boulevard and Central Expressway.

First lady Laura Bush graduated from SMU and serves on its board of trustees.

The Bush library is expected to cost at least $200 million, financed with private donations. The hope is that it will be built within five years. The facility is expected to draw 500,000 visitors annually and bring millions to the local economy.

SMU has been negotiating for the library for months. The process has been controversial and faced opposition from various groups. You can read about some of that opposition in the stories listed to the right.