NEW YORK.-The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) today announced that it has completed the purchase of the building at Two Columbus Circle and will commence work immediately to transform it into a new home for the Museum. MAD was granted the right to acquire the property from the City for $17,000,000 following an open competition in which both cultural institutions and private companies submitted proposals for the site’s redevelopment.

MAD concurrently announced that it has raised more than $48,000,000 for the capital campaign it launched three years ago, which represents 96% of its original goal of $50,000,000. The Museum has subsequently increased its campaign goal to $65,000,000 to support facility enhancements and its endowment for programming, acquisitions, and operations.

“I am happy to announce that we are moving forward immediately in creating a new home that will provide exciting programs for our growing audiences of students, families, artists and visitors to the city,” noted Jerry Chazen, Chair of the Museum’s Expansion Committee and Capital Campaign. “The expanded museum will bring a wonderful new dimension of life of the neighborhood and the city.”

“The $48 million we have raised thus far—of which the public is the ultimate beneficiary—is a resounding endorsement of the Museum’s historic achievements and our plans for the future,” said Barbara Tober, Chairman of the Museum’s Board of Governors. “With nearly triple the space of our current facility, we look forward to increased opportunities to serve our community, by growing the Museum’s public and educational facilities and by mounting more special exhibitions exploring the field of contemporary arts and design.”

“We are delighted by the sale of 2 Columbus Circle to the Museum of Art & Design, which will bring new life to a long-vacant building,” said Andrew M. Alper, President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. “Following the opening of the Time Warner Center and the recently completed redesign of the public plaza, the addition of an important cultural institution to Columbus Circle will complete the area’s transformation into one of the world’s great centers of commercial, residential and cultural activity.”

“This is terrific step forward for the museum to fulfill its potential and expand its presence in New York City,” said Commissioner Kate D. Levin. “This new facility will offer an extraordinary new public space and serve to reinforce the City’s cultural vitality for residents and visitors from around the world.”

Working in collaboration with architect Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture, the Museum has developed a design that will enable the institution to meet the growing public demand for its exhibitions and educational programming, and to display its rapidly expanding permanent collection. The design will also weave the Museum into the social and cultural fabric of the revived Columbus Circle and surrounding neighborhoods. Since its opening in 1964, the current building has sat tenantless or underused for the majority of its existence, and has been vacant and derelict since 1998.

The new design incorporates new galleries for the Museum’s permanent collection and special exhibitions, artist studios and classrooms, public spaces and service areas, and museum offices and art storage. It will also bring natural light into the nearly windowless building, opening it up to Columbus Circle and Central Park and incorporating it into the urban and social fabric of the surrounding neighborhoods. The design includes a new façade that features textured terracotta panels and transparent fritted glass, materials that express the Museum’s craft traditions.

“The new building will provide incredible new spaces for our visitors to experience the work of the artists represented in our permanent collection and the wide range of special exhibitions that we present each year,” noted Holly Hotchner, director, Museum of Arts and Design. “The design also makes the building an exciting and valuable addition to the neighborhood by literally opening it up to its surroundings and creating beautiful public spaces and classrooms.”

MAD voluntarily implemented an extensive public review process of its plans after it was awarded the rights to develop the site. The Museum plans won the approval of Manhattan Community Board 5; New York City Planning Commission; New York City Council and the Manhattan Borough Board.