In 2007, The Museum of Modern Art entered into an agreement with W2005/Hines West Fifty-Third Realty, LLC, an affiliate of Hines, one of the world's most respected private real estate firms, for the sale of a vacant parcel of land adjacent to the Museum. The developer has proposed an iconic, eighty-two-story tower for the lot, which is located at 53 West Fifty-third Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues.

MoMA will gain the use of approximately 40,000 square feet of new gallery space and 35,000 square feet of support space, bringing the total additional Museum space to 75,000 square feet. The mixed-use plan also calls for 150 residential apartments and one hundred hotel rooms.

The project will enable MoMA to showcase more works of art from its internationally renowned collection, as well as special exhibitions. The additional galleries—a 30% increase in MoMA's existing exhibition space on the second, fourth, and fifth floors—will be seamlessly integrated into the current exhibition galleries, creating an expanded and enhanced visitor experience. There will be no change to the existing Museum entrances or lobby.

The developer selected this year's Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, Jean Nouvel to design the tower, which features a unique silhouette that tapers as it rises to a distinctive spire. The New York Times said the tower "promises to be the most exhilarating addition to the skyline in a generation."

Nouvel's tower will augment a corridor of New York with a rich architectural heritage, which includes Philip Johnson's "Lipstick Building" at Third Avenue; Hugh Stubbins's Citicorp Building at Lexington Avenue, both Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building and Gordon Bunshaft's Lever House at Park Avenue; the renovated MoMA complex between Fifth and Sixth avenues with buildings by Philip Goodwin and Edward Durell Stone, Philip Johnson, and Yoshio Taniguchi; Cesar Pelli's Museum Tower, also on West Fifty-third Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues; the recently constructed American Folk Art Museum building, designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien; and Eero Saarinen's CBS Building, "Blackrock," at Sixth Avenue.

Recent reviews of Jean Nouvel's design for the building at 53 West Fifty-third Street can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/arts/design/15arch.html,
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/magazine/06nouvel.html,
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/arts/design/23ouro.html,
and http://nymag.com/arts/architecture/features/46191/.

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MoMA recently hosted two special evening presentations about the proposed building for 53 West Fifty-third Street designed by Jean Nouvel, held for the community on September 16, 2008 and October 29, 2008. The programs featured an overview of the Museum's eighty years of architectural history and information about Nouvel's proposed design. Those in attendance were invited to submit questions.

The developer has posted answers to frequently asked questions about 53 West Fifty-third Street at http://www.53w53.com/q_a.html.

The following are frequently asked questions about Museum activities related to the project.

How many more visitors does the Museum expect to attract by adding space?

The rationale behind the project is to provide more space to showcase MoMA's expansive collection and exhibitions.  MoMA does not anticipate an increase in attendance as a result. 

Where will MoMA's visitors line up on busy days?

MoMA currently utilizes the traffic management plan agreed upon as part of the Museum's 2004 expansion. Provisions include queuing in the MoMA lobby, using sidewalk stanchions, and providing additional staff to monitor the visitor queues including an end-of-line greeter. Additional measures have been adopted since 2004 to minimize outside queuing, including a free online ticketing service and controlled distribution of pre-printed tickets during free admission periods. The Museum is constantly adjusting its visitor queuing strategies to accommodate new technologies and evolving visitor patterns.

What is the Museum's continuing operating plan for its own loading docks and their use for outside corporate events?

There are two MoMA loading docks on West Fifty-fourth Street—one for trash and general deliveries, and one for art and special deliveries. Both are used throughout the day. There is also a Museum Tower loading dock, which is adjacent to the MoMA loading docks but in no way controlled by MoMA. The regular staffed hours of operation for the Museum's two loading docks are Monday–Friday, 7:00 a.m.–5:45 p.m., and Saturday, 8:00 a.m.–3:15 p.m. Specialized deliveries which support the operation of the Museum's restaurants can sometimes occur slightly outside of regular hours.

The docks also are used to support a range of deliveries related to special activities and events, including some corporate events, which serve as important sources of financial support for MoMA's education programs, exhibition programs and activities for millions of visitors.

The Museum has made numerous improvements to its loading dock management over the past two years.  A dock supervisor consistently enforces the Museum's policy whereby all Museum-related loading and unloading takes place only after vehicles have entered the loading dock completely and the dock door has been closed.  When necessary, the Museum requires a truck expeditor be present to manage traffic flow and instruct vehicles to wait on a nearby business street or avenue until the loading dock is available.

What has MoMA done to improve trash collection?

In response to community concerns about curbside trash and truck noise, MoMA hired a private trash carting service to replace the New York City Department of Sanitation's business trash collection.  As a result, no Museum trash is ever left at the curb and all trash collection is conducted within the loading dock with the loading dock door closed.