The Art Newspaper

Broad to build museum in downtown LA

The billionaire collector has confirmed the site of a new home for his contemporary art, and announced architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro will design it

By Helen Stoilas. Web only
Published online: 23 August 2010

The site of Eli Broad's future museum, across from the Walt Disney Concert Hall, is currently a parking lot

Billionaire collector Eli Broad has officially chosen the site for a new museum to house his contemporary art holdings, and as many expected, it will be built on the 2.4-acre county-owned lot on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, just steps from the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

The final hurdle was easily overcome on 23 August when the Grand Avenue Authority, a committee of state and local officials that oversee the development of the area, gave the final approval needed to lease the site to Broad. The committee’s authorisation added to the already unanimous support of the Los Angeles City Council and Community Redevelopment Agency and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Under the agreement, Broad will pay $7.7m to lease the land over 99 years, and finance the estimated $80m-$100m construction costs of the building himself, while also providing $200m towards its operating budget.

Up until the vote, Broad would not confirm that he would definitely chose the downtown Los Angeles site as the future home for his museum, saying that another space in Santa Monica was also being considered. But immediately following the approval, the collector verified the site and announced that he had commissioned architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro to design the new building, with Santa Monica firm Gensler serving as executive architect. Museum construction is set to begin in spring 2011 and be completed in late 2012, although work on an adjoining three-storey parking garage added at the request of the Community Redevelopment Agency will begin this October.