One of America’s most influential private art museums is moving forward with an expansion into new territory thanks to a partnership with Beyer Blinder Belle.

Nearly two years after opening its new 100,000-square-foot Selldorf Architects-designed space in Miami, the former Rubell Family Collection is now looking to make an even bigger statement with a 12-story, 2.7-acre mixed-use development that its founders hope will create another cultural hub in the nation’s capital. 

Situated in Southwest D.C., the new satellite location will feature a 492-unit residential development called Gallery 64 anchored by the campus of Randall Junior High School, a historic former public school that served the community from 1906 until its closure in the late 1970s.

Formerly under the stewardship of D.C.’s metropolitan government and later the Corcoran Gallery of Art (the building was acquired by the Rubells in 2010), the renovated school building will follow LEED Silver guidelines and has been granted unanimous approval by the city’s Historic Preservation Review Board and Ward 6 Advisory Neighborhood Commission. 

The east wing of the former school will be converted into gallery space with a new glass entryway, a bookstore, and multiple dining areas while the building’s west wing will serve as an administrative center for local nonprofits and creative business concerns.  

In total, the redevelopment will create 500,000 square feet of usable space. Construction is expected to finish by the end of 2022.