After nearly two years of deliberation, the Bronx Museum of the Arts in Concourse is still waiting for a makeover.
A New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting on Tuesday yielded no immediate action plan for the beginning of the revamp, which seeks to better unite the campus by rebuilding the entrance to the museum.
The proposal, presented by the founder of Marvel Architects Jonathan Marvel, would turn the front of the museum into a multi-story entrance that he said would be more engaging to the public. He spoke about repainting the original exposed brick white for a clean look, as well as installing an art deco-style metal roof that would light up at nightfall.
Marvel said the proposed design was inspired by the legacy of the Bronx Museum of the Arts itself.
“This is meant to sort of host all the periods of history, to a certain degree, that the building has had, and as it has transformed the corner in the past 60 years,” he said during the meeting.
And while the latest proposal has garnered support from different borough agencies and elected officials — including state Assemblymember Latoya Joyner, City Councilmember Althea Stevens and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson — some of the commission members said Tuesday they still weren’t ready to support the project as it currently stands.
One of those was Michael Goldblum, who felt the design doesn’t fit with the traditional architecture or sentiment of the Grand Concourse.
“I think that when we evaluate new buildings that go into historic districts, the thing that I look for anyway is how a modern building dialogues with the significant portions or certain aspects of the district,” Goldblum said. “For me, this building’s form dialogues the most with the executive towers across the street, which is in my view, a building that is anomalous to the district.”
He said the proposed design has a certain “Miami modern quality, that while very exuberant and very fun,” is “not really part of the period for which the district was designated.” A swath of the Grand Concourse was designated as a historic district by the city in 2011.
The other common concern among commissioners was the building’s white exterior, which some said would be difficult to keep clean. Different commission members also said they’d like the outdoor spaces — including the sidewalk and vegetation outside — to be an intentional part of the final design.
The museum, founded in 1971 and housed at several locations along the Grand Concourse since its inception, has been a significant cultural landmark in the Bronx and citywide for decades — and has been more accessible for anyone, despite income, since it got rid of its admission fee in 2012.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation began searching for an architect to design the Bronx Museum’s new south wing in the summer of 2021. The original renovation request sought to build an entrance space large enough for gathering, activate the new wing to showcase artwork in a way that entices visitors, and serve as an extension of the sidewalk so passersby could see art on the inside.
According to a spokesperson from the Bronx Museum, $4.8 million was added to this year’s city fiscal budget for the institution — $300,000 from the Bronx Borough President’s office and $4.5 million from the mayor.
Landmarks Chair Sarah Carroll said with a few tweaks the renovation should get the green light.
“I think with some of those refinements there would be support for this approach,” she said.
– Aliya Schneider contributed to this report
Reach Camille Botello at cbotello@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
