Construction on Penn State’s new art museum expected to start this summer. Here’s what we know
Penn State’s plans for the new Palmer Museum of Art finally include a more detailed timeline, with construction anticipated to start this summer.
According to officials, the new museum — which will reportedly cost between $71 million and $85 million — is expected to start construction soon after formal approval by the board of trustees in July. Construction on the roughly 70,000-square-foot building is anticipated to last about two years, based on recent plans publicly shared with the State College Borough Planning Commission.
Still, it’s possible the museum north of East Park Avenue won’t open until 2024.
“It’s two years,” said university planner Neil Sullivan, referring to construction. “But the museum needs roughly six months to move the art in and get the building ready for opening.”
The new Palmer Museum of Art, which is set to replace Curtin Road’s 49-year-old museum with the same name, was first announced in 2019. Once completed, Penn State has said it will be the largest art museum between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Based on current plans and university officials, the exhibition space inside the new museum will nearly double and visitors will be able to appreciate about 50% more works of art there than before.
“Looks like a well-thought out project,” borough commission member John Eich said. “Well done.”
The new museum, located between the Arboretum and the Lewis Katz Building, will be clad in regional sandstone and will feature two distinct wings connected by an overhead walkway. The smaller east wing will house administrative offices and at least two classrooms, while the larger west wing will include exhibit and workshop spaces. Both wings have room for expansion.
There will be no restaurant in the museum — a Panera Bread is next door at Katz — but a small store will be included with grab-and-go options. Weddings and other events will also continue to be held at the Arboretum, and the new museum will offer even more space for such events.
According to officials, the new museum will feature prep space for a caterer, a full catering kitchen and exterior space with room for catering tents.
Parking for the museum will come from the existing lot adjacent to Katz. Students with permits can currently park there but, with the addition of the museum, that will no longer be the case. Instead, a consultant has said that the 339 total spaces should be adequate for Katz staff (103 spaces), Arboretum visitors and staff (86 spaces) and museum visitors and staff (89 spaces), especially considering the museum’s busiest hours come outside of normal classroom times.
The Arboretum’s current parking lot will be demolished for the new museum, but the Arboretum itself will not be directly impacted from that, officials said. The most dramatic change at the Penn State hotspot will be the removal of a portion of the evergreen-tree ring around the center lawn space, to open up up the view and “bolster the connection” between the landscape and building.
Penn State has previously said it views the new museum as part of a “cultural gateway,” a first step in creating a hub that could one day include a planetarium, conservatory and performance space. Officials told the borough planning commission that a space was already reserved south of the new museum’s location, where an interdisciplinary STEM museum could also be constructed.
The new Palmer Museum of Art will essentially be built on the line that divides State College Borough from College Township, so both municipalities’ respective planning commissions will hear future proposals here. The final design plans must still be formally approved before construction begins, and the board of trustees must also review the plans.
But the new art museum took another step forward last week by introducing its preliminary plan to the borough. And, if all does go according to plan, visitors should have a new destination to look forward to in a couple years.
