NEW YORK.- Saul Dennison, President of the Board of Trustees of the New Museum, and Lisa Phillips, Toby Devan Lewis Director, announced today that the Museum has acquired an additional property at 231 Bowery as part of a long-range plan for institutional growth. The 47,000-square-foot, five-story structure is located directly south of the new, New Museum at 235 Bowery, which was designed by the Tokyo-based firm SANAA and opened to the public in December 2007.
The availability of an adjacent property is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a dynamic and growing institution, commented Dennison. For the New Museum, the acquisition of 231 Bowery is both a wise investment in our future and a guarantee that we will be able to play an active role in preserving the distinctive character of our neighborhood by controlling development in the immediate vicinity. We are extremely fortunate to be in a position to seize this opportunity as the New Museum enters its fourth decade and anticipates ever more ambitious, exciting, and visible programs.
Dennison added that the Museum has no immediate plans to program the newly acquired building and will maintain it as is, using vacant space for additional offices and storage until a long-range plan is developed.