Portland Museum of Art Buys New Building For $14 M., Freeing Up Space For Exhibitions

The Portland Museum of Art (PMA) in Maine closed on its purchase of a new building in the city’s downtown, as well as two adjacent parking lots late last month.

The building, previously owned by MaineHealth, a major regional hospital system and the largest private employer in the state, was sold for $14 million.

The plan is for the PMA to move its administrative offices to the new Free Street building, which is next door to the museum as a way to open up space for more galleries in its main building.

“This acquisition is a milestone for PMA, allowing the next generation of our institution to grow in place in the Arts District,” Marcie Parker Griswold, head of communications for the museum, said in a statement Wednesday. “Securing these neighboring properties enables us to turn a long-term vision into reality: creating a more accessible and cohesive home for the arts in the center of Portland.”

The PMA is in the process of launching another, unrelated, addition to its facilities: a new wing that would more than double the museum’s footprint with additional gallery space, a performance space, a photography center, and a rooftop terrace. To create space for that extension, the museum demolished the former Children’s Museum building at 142 Free Street, which it purchased in 2019.

The new wing, planned to cost $100 million, is being designed by LEVER Architecture, which won an international design competition for the commission.



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