New home for Palmer Museum of Art approved by Penn State trustees
Updated 8:03 PM;
Today 8:03 PM
Penn State trustees have approved an $85 million relocation of the Palmer Museum of Art to a new site off Bigler Road. The construction project will be funded by a combination of private gifts and proceeds from the university s share of the latest Big Ten Conference media rights deal.
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Penn State trustees approved the construction of a new, and larger, $85 million home for the Palmer Museum of Art Friday on a 26-7 vote.
Opponents continued to raise concerns before the vote about using precious capital resources for a project that - while all present said would be a great addition to the University Park campus - is not as student-centered as some other needs.
Penn State’s Board of Trustees on Friday approved final plans to build a new Palmer Museum of Art adjacent to the Arboretum, despite opposition to the timing of the project from several trustees.
Construction on the $85 million 71,000-square-foot facility, will begin this summer and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2023.
“A museum as part of a cultural district at the University Park campus is a long-term vision for the university,” board chair Matt Schuyler said during a committee meeting on Thursday. “It’s an investment in the next 100 years of Penn State, not the next few years of economics.”
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Penn State board approves plans for $85 million art museum Susan Snyder, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Pennsylvania State University’s board of trustees on Friday approved final plans for an $85 million art museum to replace an aging facility and house its growing collection.
University officials believe the new museum would be the largest in square footage and size of collection between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
“This new facility will help to advance the (museum) as a cultural destination and scholarly resource for the University, surrounding communities, and visitors from across Pennsylvania and beyond,” Erin Coe, museum director, said in a statement.
Construction is slated to begin this summer, with a projected opening in fall 2023.
Following months of planning and deliberation, Penn State’s Board of Trustees voted 26-7 to approve plans Friday that will construct a new and larger Palmer Museum of Art adjacent to the Arboretum.
Construction on the $85 million project is expected to begin this summer and open in fall 2023. The new 71,000-square-foot facility is expected to replace the existing, nearly 50-year-old Palmer Museum of Art just a few minutes down the street on Curtain Road.
The building won’t be funded by student tuition. It’ll keep the Palmer namesake honor of the late Barbara and James Palmer, whose gifts to the museum are valued at more than $50 million.