Dealer Paul Theibaud died of cancer last weekend. He was a prominent California dealer and the son of Wayne Theibaud. His death has caused a close friend to hasten long-held plans for a real estate project planned around one of his father’s works, according to the Sacramento Press:

Thiebaud died Saturday of colon cancer at age 49. He had been partnering with developer Mike Heller Jr. on a project to build a modern, mixed-use office building featuring a tile mosaic of the Sacramento River by his father, artist Wayne Thiebaud.

The two friends had planned to build the $12 million, four-story structure to honor their fathers — contractor Mike Heller Sr., who died in 2007, and the elder Thiebaud — and their collaboration on Sacramento Municipal Utility Department headquarters more than 50 years ago. At that time, their fathers teamed up with architect Len Blackford to create a celebrated piece of modern architecture using a mosaic tile mural cityscape by Thiebaud for SMUD.

Paul Thiebaud’s death is inspiring Heller to push forward with the project.

Art Dealer’s Death Rouses Project (Sacramento Bee)