DC Council Approves Financing for Corcoran Addition

The DC Council has approved the $40 M Tax Increment Financing plan to fund the massive new addition to the Corcoran Gallery designed by Frank Gehry. The news means the Corcoran is one step closer to a scheduled 2006 groundbreaking, having raised $106 M for the renovation and expansion. (Nearly one-third was pledged by AOL executives in 2001)

Local blog DC Art News reports the news, quipping "So Washington's first Origami building will soon be a reality. Now let's begin to hear the complaining and bitching begin." Corcoran officials strike a different tone in their press release: "I believe the breathtaking Gehry wing will number among the Corcoran's most glorious achievements and promises to become one of Washington's dramatic visual icons. We will now be able to contribute even more effectively to the vision we all share for our city as one of the world's greatest cultural destinations." Gehry, one of the most famous living architects, is perhaps best known for his 1997 Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

> See Corcoran New Wing Website
> See Corcoran Press Release