Will the Whitney Museum finally open a second location? An agreement between the museum and the city has been three years in the making, but the NY Times reports that they're forging ahead with plans to open a Renzo Piano-designed space at the entrance of the High Line; it will be six stories high and twice the size of their current location.
They have now signed a contract with the city's Economic Development Corporation "to buy the city-owned site at Washington and Gansevoort Streets for $18 million. That is about half the appraised value of the property, a sign of the city’s interest in drawing visitors to the area." They now have four years to close on the purchase of the land, and five to start bringing the design to life.
Last year Leonard A. Lauder donated $131 million to the museum, under the condition that they do not sell their first home, the 1966 Marcel Breuer building on Madison Avenue and 75th Street. The Whitney's director, Adam Weinberg, says "the money for the project would come from capital funds, not the operating budget." They will also eventually sell five town houses next to the Breuer building in order to make the downtown museum a reality. Perhaps once they settle in on the High Line, they'll team up with the Standard for an ongoing, ever-changing exhibit of the human form.
