UPDATE: Originally posted at 11:50, updated now with the full report (.pdf) of the panel's recommendation. More updates as they come.

The panel tasked with reviewing eight proposals for the Fun Forest site has decided a Chihuly museum, surrounded by an eight-foot wall, is the best use of public space at the Seattle Center.

The committee's full recommendation will be available at 1:00 p.m., says Deborah Daoust, spokeswoman for the Seattle Center. She adds that Seattle Center director Robert Nellams "is going to take the weekend and some of next week to finalize his presentation to the mayor. The recommendation is not necessarily the final call. We've always said that the Seattle Center is an 'and' space, not an 'either or' space."

From the report:

The Panel felt strongly that the Space Needle LLC’s proposal to construct and operate an exhibit space, event pavilion and art garden featuring the work of glass artist Dale Chihuly, with free educational opportunities in cooperation with the Seattle School District, financing of the construction and operation of an art play space at Seattle Center and the other supplementary benefits described below best satisfied the criteria and would most benefit Seattle Center. Recognizing the opportunity to make multiple recommendations, the Panel elected to make the Space Needle LLC its sole recommendation.