Dia Art Foundation Plans an Upscale Move - New York Times

Dia Art Foundation Plans an Upscale Move

By CAROL VOGEL
Published: May 9, 2005

Since the Dia Art Foundation was created in 1974, it has been something of a pioneer. More than a decade before fashionable contemporary art galleries moved into Chelsea, Dia operated a museum space there. Now it has its eye on a derelict building in the next hot neighborhood: the meatpacking district.
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The proposed Dia gallery would be used for temporary exhibits.
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Dia plans to move from its two spaces on West 22nd Street to 820 Washington Street, at Gansevoort Street. The new site is at the entrance to the High Line, the abandoned railway line 30 feet above the blocks between 10th and 11th Avenues, from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street, which is about to become a park with the help of $50.7 million in city money.

The West Side above 16th Street, along the High Line, is poised for upscale development. The city is rezoning the area from an industrial district to one that includes residential and commercial spaces.

The city owns 820 Washington Street and is supporting Dia's proposed museum, which must go through a public review and be approved by the city. Plans call for possibly demolishing the existing structure, an old meatpacking facility now in disrepair, and building a simple two-story museum with 45,000 square feet of gallery space on two floors. Dia's proposal includes provisions to expand the Gansevoort Meat Market on the West Street side of the building, said Michael Govan, director of Dia.