The Gregg Museum of Art & Design expansion project on the NC State campus has moved into a new phase after a years-long effort to raise millions of dollars in private funding.
The university museum’s new home, located in the former chancellor’s residence on Hillsborough Street near the Memorial Belltower, is being renovated with a new gallery space of 15,000 feet to accommodate the museum’s collection of more than 30,000 objects.
N.C. State had pledged not to begin construction until the $9.8 million project was fully funded, including a $3.9 million campaign for private funding from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Construction is expected to take 18 months.
Roger Manley, museum director, says the expansion also adds greater visibility after being tucked into the Talley Student Center, making it difficult for visitors to find it and to park.
The expansion also will create room for a sculpture garden and enable it to host events, such as weddings or outdoor film screenings. Manley expects the museum will work with its neighbors, Pullen Park, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, and Theatre in the Park, to provide programming for the campus and community.
The project kicked off in 2010 when university officials voted to move the Gregg Museum to the chancellor’s residence. The fundraising campaign got its last major boost in February, when the Wake County Board of Commissioners awarded $650,000 to the project from hotel and restaurant tax revenue. The university has estimated the county will recoup its investment in two years because of additional hotel and restaurant business.