NEW YORK.- The Board of Trustees and the Director of the New Museum of Contemporary Art today announced plans to construct a new, state-of-the-art, multiple-use $35 million facility at 235 Bowery. The Bowery site, currently an 8,000 square foot parking lot, is located between Stanton and Rivington Streets at the beginning of Prince Street. Plans call for a 60,000 s.f. building, which will be twice the size of the Museums current facility at 583 Broadway in Soho.
The New Museum site is at the crossroads of several dynamic neighborhoods: the East Village, the Lower East Side, Nolita, Little Italy, Soho, Noho and Chinatown. The new New Museum will draw on the cultural diversity of these communities and will anchor the revitalization of the Bowery into a vibrant, 24-7 boulevard.
Saul Dennison, President of the Board of Trustees of the New Museum, said, This announcement marks the first phase in a project that will culminate with the construction of the largest and only art museum in downtown New York. Were confident this is the right moment for us to take the bold step of expanding and becoming part of the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. Our new building on the Bowery will firmly establish the New Museum as the premier contemporary arts destination in the City. The Museum will provide a stimulating and accessible gathering place for the public and continue to be a resource for the Citys creative and intellectual community.
Our audience and our program demand a world class museum for contemporary art that responds to the culture of the 21st Century, said Lisa Phillips, the Henry Luce III Director of the Museum. The new facility will have everything from dramatically increased exhibition space to an innovative new media center, a blackbox theater, bookstore, expanded classrooms, study center, and a caf. Whats more, the building itself will make an architectural statement that reflects the New Museums groundbreaking spirit.
An international group of architects will be invited to participate in the design competition for the new museum. This group will be announced soon. The entire project is slated for completion in late 2005.
