French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault is expanding his art museum empire with plans to renovate a disused public building near his Louis Vuitton Foundation on the outskirts of Paris.
The Musee National des Arts et Traditions Populaires, built in 1972 but sitting vacant since 2005, is to be turned into a arts and crafts center in a 158 million euros ($167 million) revamp by architect Frank Gehry.
Arnault, who controls luxury group LVMH, told a news conference alongside President Francois Hollande, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and Gehry that he viewed the new project as a “cultural start-up”.
Named “La Maison LVMH/Arts-Talents-Patrimoine”, the renovated building will host concert and exhibition halls and workshops after it opens in 2020, reports Reuters.
LVMH will pay a fixed annual fee of 150,000 euros, plus a portion of revenue generated, under a 50 year-concession from the City of Paris.
Paris officials last year renewed LVMH’s concession for the Jardin d’Acclimatation amusement park behind the disused museum site, opening the way for a renovation of the garden and its attractions.
