PLANNED BROAD MUSEUM AT MSU POSTPONED

Eli Broad’s planned art museum at his alma mater, Michigan State University, has been postponed, reports David Ng for the Los Angeles Times. This week, officials at MSU said the groundbreaking for the long-planned Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum is now scheduled for March 2010, which represents a two-year delay on the project. Originally, the university had planned to break ground in 2008 and finish construction in 2010. The winning design by London-based architect Zaha Hadid calls for forty-two thousand square feet spread over three levels. “Edye and I are delighted that this project is going forward and pleased that Michigan State and Zaha Hadid Limited have worked closely together to keep the project on budget,” Broad said in a statement to the Times.

In March, news reports surfaced stating that costs for the museum had ballooned from the initial $40 million projection to an astounding $160 million. This week, however, the university said the estimated cost is now in the range of $40 million to $45 million. It said Broad and his wife have donated $18.5 million to the museum, with the rest coming from other private donations.

“Over the course of the last fourteen months, we have been working to assure the architectural, programmatic and financial viability of the project. With the timeline confirmed, we are pleased we are moving forward,” said MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon in a statement. An article from the Lansing State Journal suggested that university officials were having difficulty figuring out how to implement the “unusual pleated exterior” of Hadid’s design. The article also said that offices and storage that were originally expected to fit in the new building may now have to be relocated to an existing building.