Plans for a new smart facility in downtown Long Beach will not be affected by the recent economic crises, President F. King Alexander said Thursday."The only way it'd be affected will be the construction possibilities which might be more favorable now," said Alexander. The president seemed optimistic about the plans since construction costs will go down as a result of the country's economic turmoil.
This, he said, "improves our chances of being present" in the downtown Long Beach community.
The University Art Museum has a lot to gain from building a new off-campus museum, Alexander said.
For one thing, the UAM's permanent Hampton Collection, which is worth about $10 milli
on, has to be housed in a law firm in downtown Los Angeles because there is not enough space at the campus museum.
on, has to be housed in a law firm in downtown Los Angeles because there is not enough space at the campus museum. "We have about 6,000 square feet and we need about 20,000 to do what we want to do," Alexander said.
Another problem for the UAM is parking. When the museum has events, parking is always a problem for the visitors who come from the community and have to pay fees and search for a space.
It's a problem, Alexander said, when we tell people, "Hey, come to our musuem, but there's nowhere to park."
A new facility would help solve this problem.
It would also "give our students a place to showcase their art better," Alexander said. By having a museum in downtown Long Beach, art students would have the chance to get "more exposure."
The UAM, Alexander said, is "one of the things we should be showcasing, instead it's cocooned within the heart of campus."
*Photo from http://www.csulb.edu/president/; www.tripadvisor.com; and http://www.csulb.edu/org/uam/
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