IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - The University of Iowa has dropped a planned public-private partnership for construction of a new Museum of Art building on a major downtown Iowa City intersection.
The Iowa City Press-Citizen (https://icp-c.com/1LepBjL ) reports that university officials informed H+H Development Group, which includes Hodge Construction and the Hieronymus family, that it wouldn’t seek a long-term lease agreement for the partnership Monday.
The university announced more than a year ago that it would pair with the local developer for the 70,000- to 75,000-square foot building.
The university’s business manager, David Kieft, says that officials became concerned about the cost, estimated at $80 million.
“We worked with the developers and the architect to try to bring those costs down, but there are still certain parameters that you’ve got to meet to be an accredited museum and protect your collection,” he said.
The university will pay for architectural and design work already done for the project. University officials expect the cost to be slightly more than $2 million.
Various large-scale project for the downtown site, called Hieronymus Square, have been proposed and them abandoned over the years. The announcement has left the fate of the project in question. The developers didn’t immediately return the newspaper’s messages for comment.
The university is still committed to building a new facility to house and display the art collection, officials said.
“It’s about building the best art museum for the university,” said Sean O’Harrow, executive director for the UI Museum of Art. “I have confidence in this project.”
The museum has been without a permanent home since 2008, when its former building was flooded.
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Information from: Iowa City Press-Citizen, https://www.press-citizen.com/
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