$60 million art facility approved for University of Iowa

The state Board of Regents today unanimously approved a request from the University of Iowa to replace the flood-damaged Art Building East complex at a new site on River Street.

The new facility will cost about $60 million.

Money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will cover most of the cost, with the rest coming from insurance proceeds, academic building revenue bonds and UI funds.

The area on River Street is adjacent to the UI arts campus and near Art Building West, which is being restored after its flood damage.

The project likely will require the purchase and demolition of several privately owned structures on River Street, including apartment buildings and a former fraternity. UI officials are looking both north and south of River Street, with the final site yet to be decided.

The UI rents two buildings in the area: a former fraternity at 109 River Street, used for graduate painting studios, and 108 River Street, leased by the theater department.

Flood-damaged Hancher Auditorium also will be replaced at a new site, but UI officials have not made a recommendation about that.