From the Ground Up: Springfield Art Museum expansion and renovation – Phase 1

Owner: Springfield Art Museum
Construction manager at risk: Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.
Architects: BNIM LLC (Kansas City) and nForm Architecture LLC
Engineers: CJW Transportation Consultants LLC, civil; Walter P. Moore (Kansas City), structural; and Imeg (Kansas City), mechanical, electrical and plumbing
Size: 11,000 square feet of additions and 26,000 square feet of renovations
Cost: $35 million
Funding sources: American Rescue Plan Act funds; State of Missouri general fund allocation and Missouri Department of Economic Development funds; Springfield Art Museum 2028 fundraising campaign
Estimated completion: Late 2027
Project description: A renovation and expansion project is slated to span three years and two phases for the Springfield Art Museum. Springfield City Council in May 2024 OK’d a two-phase path for the project. Phase 1 includes the conversion of the museum’s auditorium into a special exhibitions gallery space with 20-foot ceilings that will allow the museum to expand its offerings; other highlights are an art study room and updated heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and climate control to preserve the collection. The first phase also will include improvements to the grounds and the renaturalization of the adjacent Fassnight Creek. Funding is still being raised for Phase 2, to include exterior work on the museum’s east and west sides. The goal is to finish the project by the museum’s 100th anniversary in 2028.