In 1999, the City of San Francisco mandated that development of the last vacant parcel of the Yerba Buena Gardens Development District include a cultural component, including an African American presence. Mayor Willie L. Brown appointed a steering committee to establish the scope and mission of such a cultural facility. The planning process included scholars, educators, curators, community leaders and others who determined that the new facility would be a museum with a global perspective. In 2002, the proposed cultural facility was named the Museum of the African Diaspora ( MoAD ) and broke ground at the corner of Mission Street and Third Street in San Francisco. MoADs planning and development was led by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the developers of the St. Regis San Francisco, and MoADs Board of Directors and staff. Opened in November 2005, MoAD is an international museum, unique in the world, poised to become one of the worlds pre-eminent cultural institutions.