Art museum solicits firms for master plan

With attendance up 66 percent during the last five years, the Springfield Art Museum issued a request for qualifications seeking consulting firms to create a master plan for improvements to the building and grounds.

The chosen firm or team of firms would focus on three areas:
    •    renovating, replacing and/or expanding the museum’s education wing;
    •    renovating the entire building to improve the visitor experience and develop new administrative spaces; and
    •    improving the grounds to better connect them with surrounding amenities, including its connection to Phelps Grove Park.

City Council on Aug. 7 approved a budget adjustment of $255,000 for the art museum to hire a consultant for its 1111 E. Brookside Drive campus. The funding also allows for a capital campaign for improvements identified in the plan.

“This master plan presents an extraordinary opportunity for the selected firm to define what it means to be a municipal museum in the 21st century and to explore the use of municipal infrastructure to create greater civic and community engagement,” the request for qualifications statement reads.

The museum expects to interview finalists during the week of Oct. 16 and make a selection during the week of Oct. 23.