Three of the seven candidates vying for the chance to redevelop San Francisco's iconic Palace of Fine Arts may become finalists if the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department follows the recommendation of its advisory panel.

If selected as finalists, those three will have until late May to submit detailed proposals for how they would transform the building behind the site's rotunda, once home to the Exploratorium. The top candidates are:

• TMG Partners and Flynn Properties: A proposal to build "Maybeck Center at the Palace," which would include a boutique hotel; restaurant, bar and café; event spaces and interactive history exhibits.

• Equity Community Builders: A proposal focusing on San Francisco arts, crafts, community and hospitality with small retail and display spaces for local artists; restaurants and cafés at ground level; and around 175 hotel rooms on two new mezzanine levels.

• SFMAP Consortium: A proposal for an educational and interactive San Francisco Museum at the Palace with a new central hall; retail and café kiosks; and a destination fine-dining restaurant.

The candidates will have to present a detailed financial plan for the restoration, expected to cost at least $20M. Each must agree to keep the theater at the south end of the building.

These proposals were singled out in an earlier online "Preserve the Palace" petition calling for the city to keep the site as solely a cultural and educational center that has now more than 20,000 signatures. [SFC]