The Wolfsonian–FIU museum is planning a major makeover of its Miami Beach campus, including a five-story addition featuring a rooftop terrace, event hall and new exhibition space.
The 21,000-square-foot addition is planned for 1035 and 1041 Washington Avenue, near the museum’s existing building at 1001 Washington Avenue, according to documents submitted to the city of Miami Beach. The Miami Beach Planning Board will consider an application for the expansion on Dec. 8.
The project would include a flood-resilient entrance, a ground-level courtyard, a double-height grand hall, a salon, a multipurpose space called the atelier, collection display and support areas, new elevators and a rooftop terrace.
The FIorida International University Foundation is leasing the two Washington Avenue parcels to the FIU Board of Trustees for the expansion. Under the ground lease, FIU would pay $10 in annual base rent and $85,000 in annual additional rent. It would also cover property-related expenses, including construction, maintenance, insurance and utilities. The lease term is at least 40 years.
Founded by art collector Mitchell Wolfson Jr., the Wolfsonian-FIU museum opened to the public in 1995. Two years later, it became part of FIU. The collection includes more than 200,000 items from the period between 1850 to 1950, including rare publications, graphic design and architectural drawings.
Exhibitions and educational programming would be the primary use of the museum’s expanded facility, according to a letter of intent submitted to Miami Beach’s planning director. It also describes a special event rental program for selected spaces. The museum says it will not host loud, DJ-driven events associated with nightclubs or operate as a dance hall or nightclub.
The documents do not specify the project’s total construction cost or construction schedule.
The Wolfsonian’s expansion plans have been decades in the making.
In 2004, Miami-Dade County voters approved $10 million through a general obligation bond program for the museum to add about 25,000 square feet of publicly accessible space. But the project remained unrealized as the museum worked through zoning and planning issues. In 2022, Miami Beach voters approved a cultural and arts bond that allocated another $5 million toward the Wolfsonian–FIU’s expansion.
