U. of Florida Breaks Ground on Museum, Despite State Budget Troubles

The University of Florida is breaking ground on an expansion for its Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art. The expansion will add some 25,000 square feet to the building, a growth of 30 percent, and will cost $20-million. The addition will hold the museum’s Asian-art collection.

“We are thoughtfully and excitedly embarking upon this construction with the museum’s mission in mind,” Rebecca Nagy, Harn Museum of Art director, said in a press release.

Emphasis on “thoughtfully” there. Florida’s budget situation is looking dire, with institutions bracing for cuts and possible layoffs. The Harn addition was sponsored in part by a $10-million donation from David and Mary Ann Cofrin, who have supported the museum from its beginning. The remaining $10-million will come from a loan taken out by the University of Florida Foundation. The foundation is expecting that the state will repay the $10-million out of a matching-fund program that is supported by real-estate tax revenues.

Florida real estate, as everyone knows, is a smoking hole in the ground right now. “A lot of this is banking on the future,” acknowledged Chris Brazda, a spokesman for the foundation.

Building an art museum addition at a time like this might carry political risks, but those seem to be risks the university has considered. J. Bernard Machen, the university’s president, remarked on significance of the groundbreaking in The Gainesville Sun.

“We are facing significant financial hardship, but I take it (the groundbreaking) as an affirmation of faith in the future of this university,” Dr. Machen said.