BUFFALO, N.Y. — More funding will help cover the renovations of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum as part of its three-and-a-half-year development.
This time it's $5 million from the state.
"This is something that the City of Buffalo and Western New York will be proud of for generations to come," State Senator Sean Ryan, who represents the 60th District, said Friday morning.
Senator Ryan Friday announced his $5 million commitment in state funding for the museum's already $250 million expansion project.
"This is one of the few projects I have been a part of that the public has been involved in from the start," he said.
This project will create a more accessible campus, provide new community gathering spaces, and add a new exhibition space.
"It only has been able to turn out this well because of the commitment from the start, of listening to the public and figuring out what the public wants to see here," Ryan said.
Without this commitment, there would have been parts of the project that would have been overlooked, such as the stairs and other parts, including the museum staff offices, auditorium, and fountain.
"We thought it would put a contrast on what needed to be redone between what needed to be redone. It's like redoing your house, and maybe not one room of the house and living room," Ryan said.
This new public-private partnership fits his vision of the new buffalo, of having what he calls A+ projects.
"And this is a shining beacon of an A+ project, and I am convinced that the public is going to love it," Ryan said.
The museum is expected to reopen to the public on June 12.