Renovation work at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is moving forward, and the more than 100-year-old building in downtown is ready for a new chapter.
The project comes in five phases, and so far phase one is in progress and expected to be finished by summer 2018.
The final anticipated completion date is still to be determined.
The 64,000-square-foot facility is undergoing upgrades and construction efforts, including an 8,000-square-foot expansion.
“We are doing something necessary,” museum Director of Development Gina Benesh said. “We are going to continue to be sustainable, and because we are going to be a better museum, we will attract more funding, support and solidify our presence in this community.”
The museum has raised nearly $32 million in pledges, more than half of the $50 million goal set for the “Imagine More Capital Campaign,” according news release by SBMA.
Benesh said she hopes to wrap up the fundraising by mid-2018.
A handful of museum trustees have stepped up to donate, and the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation has gifted $5 million, the largest commitment to date, according a statement from the museum.
Led by Santa Barbara-based architect Kupiec Architects PC, the multiyear project aims to upgrade critical facility needs while preserving and protecting works of art.
In total, the transformation will provide 25 percent more gallery space.
“The architect and the directors saw the opportunities for increasing our gallery space,” said John Coplin, SBMA director of facilities and installations. “In a couple of years, we will have three new gallery spaces.”
Creating a new storage facility and conservation space to protect the museum’s art collection, replacing the aging roof and mechanical systems, as well as constructing a new art receiving space to move art safety are listed as critical renovation needs.
“The work in the basement has been intense,” Coplin said. “A lot of work went on to prepare the areas for installation of concrete and new structures.”
Seismic retrofitting was included in stage No. 1 of the project renovation.
A large crack stretches across a wall in the museum’s basement.
“This is what started the survey of the building and determining we needed to do major seismic upgrades,” Benesh said. “These are not reinforced walls and the littlest of shaking can take this (wall) out at the core of the museum.”
The city of Santa Barbara and the San Francisco area have the same risk of earthquakes, Benesh said.
“We are categorized the same for the danger we face,” Benesh said. “We have been lucky this building has stood for almost 100 years.”
The new art receiving facility will include a three-floor elevator where there is now construction fencing near the Santa Barbara Library on East Anapamu Street.
The renovation plan not only tackles immediate repairs, but also takes advantage of an opportunity to more efficiently preserve and protect art under the museum’s care.
“People or individuals who are loaning their art want to know that we can handle it properly. We can, and visually this will show that we can handle it with confidence,” Benesh said.
This project has been undertaken through collaboration with the Santa Barbara Public Library, the city and county of Santa Barbara.
Renovation will now move on to stage No. 2 and includes upgrades to the new contemporary gallery, revamping galleries, completion of the art-storage and conservation areas, a new HVAC system, and an inside stairway near Thayer Gallery leading to the second-level.
For the final phases, workers will build a rooftop garden and pavilion, museum cafe and catering kitchen, a new technology center, new and renovated offices, as well as curatorial and education centers.
Once completed, the results will help provide a more cohesive flow from one gallery to the next, Benesh said.
“It’s going to make the visitor experience better,” Benesh said. “There won’t be as much going up and down stairs to visit galleries — visitors can see one floor in one round trip and a second by going up a single floor.”
The total number of museum visitors varies, but according to museum Public Relations Manager Katrina Carl, some 100,000 people walk through the museum doors annually.
Established in 1941, the museum reached its 75th anniversary in 2016.
The museum’s building at 1130 State St. was home to the U.S. Post Office and constructed in 1912.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
