A Grand location for Broad Museum

It’s official: Eli Broad absolutely will be building his namesake contemporary art museum along a stretch of Downtown Los Angeles with aspirations as audacious as its name—Grand Avenue.

“We want to make great works of contemporary art accessible to the broadest public, and we can think of no better location than in the center of the contemporary art world,” the billionaire philanthropist said in a media statement Monday, following the last in a series of approvals for the museum and parking lot. The Broad’s are expected to spend between $80 and $100 million on the project.

The museum, which will house the legendary contemporary collection of Broad and his wife, Edythe, is expected to be completed by late 2012.

Broad also announced that the museum—located near Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art—would  be designed by the architectural firm of Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, which, among its many civic projects, designed the new Institute of Contemporary Art on Boston harbor as well as the renovation and expansion of Lincoln Center in New York.

Talking to reporters, Broad said the New York firm’s work would complement, “not clash,” with architect Frank Gehry’s iconic Disney Hall—but added that it also would not be “anonymous.” The design will be made public, Broad said, in October, when construction on the parking lot is expected to begin.

Broad’s long-awaited announcement came after the Grand Avenue Authority, a multi-agency panel that oversees the project, unanimously approved construction of the museum, which came into play only after a plan for retail businesses and residences was undermined by the deteriorating economy.

The hope of all involved is that the infusion of money into the Broad Collection museum—and the tourism it will encourage—will persuade other investors to get off the sidelines and rejoin the project.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry, a member of the authority, called the Broad museum “a tremendous Plan B that we hadn’t anticipated,” one that she hopes will “reinvigorate interest” in the larger Grand Avenue plan.

In comments after the joint power authority’s vote, Broad made clear that the downtown site had long been his first and best option for the museum—despite statements from his camp that Santa Monica was in serious contention until the end.

“We always wanted it on Grand Avenue,” Broad said.

Last week, he expressed a similar sentiment to a writer for Supervisor Yaroslavsky’s website after the board signed off on the Grand Avenue location. “Absolutely, it’s coming to this site,” he told the writer.

Broad said he wanted to create a “populist institution” that would draw not only cultural tourists but youngsters from the region as well as the increasing numbers of people who now make downtown Los Angeles their home.

The museum will include approximately 50,000 square feet of sky lit galleries, a lecture hall and public lobby. There will be enough space, Broad said, to display upwards of 300 pieces—mostly from the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s—including pieces from Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Cindy Sherman.

As part of Broad’s agreement with Los Angeles County and the Grand Avenue Authority, he has agreed to pay more than $7 million for the construction of affordable housing. The Broads also will endow the Broad Art Foundation with $200 million to cover the museum’s ongoing annual operating expenses.

Posted 8/23/10