- April 24, 2024
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The Ormond Memorial Art Museum has big plans for its future.
With over $2.3 million in donations received for its upcoming expansion — a project that will add 6,800 square feet via a three-story addition — museum leadership is hoping to break ground in October. There is still some fundraising to be done, as the project is slated to cost between $2.8 million and $3 million, but Capital Campaign Chair Nancy Lohman said it's been "monumental" to get to the point the project is at now as it all started with a conversation four years ago.
Now, design concepts have been finalized, and the museum is continuing to raise funds through naming opportunities. Thanks to a 50-year building lease with the city of Ormond Beach, approved in November 2018, museum leadership is able to reassure the community that OMAM and its gardens will remain a part of the community for years to come.
“It’s really a testament to the fact everyone loves the gardens, values them, and now for half a century, they’re protected, at the very least," Lohman said. "I’m sure that will go on for many years beyond a 50-year lease, but to me that is very significant.”
Museum Director Susan Richmond said she is excited for the project because it will give OMAM more visibility in the community.
“We are so often called ‘Ormond’s hidden jewel’ or the ‘hidden treasure,’" Richmond said. "We are going to be hidden no more.”
The museum expansion plan, titled "Creating a Vibrant Art Scene and Keeping Granada Green," will preserve and renovate the original 1946 building that fronts East Granada Boulevard, turning all of it into gallery space. Currently, it also houses museum office space and the art classroom.
The 1998 addition to the south, which makes up the current reception area and gift shop, will be removed and a two-story building will be constructed in its place.The third story will be a rooftop terrace, allowing the museum to rent out that space for events to help sustain its community outreach, Lohman said.
The expansion will allow more classroom space, a reception hall, catering kitchen and a new community pavilion area in the corner of East Granada Boulevard and Halifax Drive. The pavilion will be a garden-like area with public art displays.
The gardens will be left as is.
“One of the things we recognize is that people love the charm of the first half of this building, the building that’s on Granada," Lohman said. "They love the charm of the casement windows and overwhelmingly, people love the charm of our gardens.”
Honorary Chair Ann Burt, who was the museum's director before Richmond for 13 years, said the plan has been well thought out and they've received input from different community resources. There were several designs at play until the museum board gave unanimous approval in September 2019.
The expansion will contribute to the ongoing revitalization efforts of East Granada Boulevard, Burt said.
“By making it more attractive and having more foot traffic here, we benefit everybody around us — the shops, the restaurants, everyone,” Burt said.
Part of the mission museum leadership took on was to "grow into the future," Lohman said. The 50-year lease with the city is allowing the museum to complete the expansion all at once instead of in small stages. It's a project they expect will be completed in about a year after they break ground.
The museum needs the renovation, Lohman said. They needed more space and the museum is in need of repair with old infrastructure and limited connectivity in place.
“We knew that we needed those enhancements, but we had, I think, the vision in our leadership to say, ‘If we’re going to make a change, let’s make a change that lasts for decades,’” Lohman said.
With at least $600,000 left to raise, the museum is still offering naming opportunities. There will be a terracotta butterfly display in the front of the building, with the chance to get your name on one beginning with a $10,000 donation. Getting your name on the building or on some aspect of it goes up to a $1 million donation.
The new Education Center will be named after Burt, who dedicated much of her time as director in developing the museum's education programs, Richmond said.
Burt said she's also hoping the museum receives an endowment fund donation to help with the museum's operating funds after the expansion is complete.
“We’re thrilled to be a part of this project and thrilled that we’ve had so many people in the community who have hopped on board with us both financially and in terms of being our ambassadors and cheerleaders," Lohman said. "We can’t wait to see this project come to fruition.”
