Laguna Beach : Coastal Panel Approves Art Museum Expansion
Construction that will double the size of the Laguna Beach Museum of Art can begin, the California Coastal Commission has decided.
Plans call for the existing 9,000-square-foot museum at Cliff Drive and Coast Highway to be expanded to 18,500 square feet, Bill Otton, director of the museum, said. Construction is scheduled to begin April 1 and be completed by December.
Construction costs are estimated at $1 million, Otton said, and spending for interior furnishings may total another $300,000.
The museum currently has underground, street and upper levels. Expansion plans call for a new front and side walls that will “push the museum as close to the street as we can legally push it,” Otton said.
When finished, the museum will have a larger entrance gallery and store, he said.
Anticipating Coastal Commission approval, the museum already has set up a satellite museum at South Coast Plaza. And while construction is under way, the main offices and permanent collection temporarily will move to the Laguna Federal Savings and Loan Building, Otton said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
