$37M expansion for Queens Museum of Art

The Queens Museum of Art released their design plans for its major expansion and renovation project that will give the museum a new look and nearly double its current size.
Grimshaw Architects along with the consulting firm Ammann & Whitney designed the project to occupy the entire New York City Building giving additional space to use for more galleries that are permanent, public and special events, education classrooms, visitor amenities as well as storage and office space.
&#8220I just think it is going to be spectacular and modest at the same time,” said Executive Director of the Queens Museum of Art Tom Finkelpearl.
Construction on the nearly $37 million expansion, which will be world-famous architect Grimshaw Architects' first major museum design in the United States, is expected to begin late in 2007 with a projected completion date two years later.
Currently, the museum has raised more than $33 million for the project, catalyzed by $21.4 million in donations from Borough President Helen Marshall.
&#8220The funds will not only allow the museum to occupy the entire structure of the New York City Building, doubling its size, but also help to create a new gallery and educational facilities,” Marshall said. &#8220These improvements, coupled with the unique history of this building, which was a World's Fair attraction and the first home of the United Nations, will ensure that it continues to serve new generations as one of the premier cultural attractions in New York City.”
The expansion will allow the museum to increase the volume and number of exhibitions its hosts as well as add to its permanent collection, which will at last have adequate space for exhibition and collection building.
&#8220The Queens Museum of Art is one of the premier cultural centers in Queens and among the City’s finest art institutions,” said Kate D. Levin, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs. This expansion will allow the museum to further engage and energize New York’s most vibrant and diverse borough and draw even more people from throughout the City and around the world.”
Finkelpearl said that generally, museums see a spike in attendance immediately after a major renovation or expansion project occurs, but the numbers often do not stay at those increased levels. However, he is optimistic that when the Queens Museum's expansion project is complete, the numbers will remain high.
&#8220The trick is to hold onto that initial audience, and I think the nature of the museum will be different enough to justify a much larger audience,” Finkelpearl said. &#8220This is a big chance for the big step forward.”