Over the next two years, an empty space at MSU will transform into what project organizers say will be a world-class art museum. It will draw new visitors to the Mid-Michigan area. Museum Donor Eli Broad says, "Art tourists travel a long ways and spend lots of money so they're going to keep MSU and the area green!"

The three-level 46,000-square-foot facility is strategically placed at the corner of Grand River Avenue and the Farm Lane campus entrance. MSU President Lou Anna Simon says,"Part of the reason that we put the art museum where it is is to connect to East Lansing and have it be an engine for economic development and change on the other side of the avenue."

Simon hopes that the project will spur development on parts of Grand River with new businesses and art galleries. Simon says, "If you can imagine the other side of Grand River developing an arts culture... galleries that compliment those that are already in East Lansing...more galleries, more art oriented activities, coffee shops, things that essentially help the economy to be vibrant year-round, not simply dependent on students."

Simon would like to see an "art corridor" stretch from the museum to East Lansing's City Center II on the corner of Abbot and Grand River. Governor Granholm says, "The arts are a huge part of how you can create a creative culture, a creative class and that's an important part of how you get an economy going."

In the short-term construction of the 40 to 45 million dollar project will create more jobs. Construction Manager Kevin Waldman says, "We put some figures together awhile ago that there are over a couple hundred man hours going toward that project and most are going to local employees."

The museum will be adjoined by an expansive outdoor sculpture garden as an extension of the east entrance courtyard and by a large pedestrian plaza at the west entrance.