A 12th Ave Seattle University parking lot could become a new art museum and the center of the school’s art holdings as property developer Dick Hedreen has announced he is gifting his family’s 200-piece, $300 million collection of paintings, pottery, photography, etchings, and sculptures to the Jesuit university on the southern edge of Capitol Hill.
The rare handover comes with a $25 million donation to begin the development of the Seattle University Museum of Art, “a teaching museum that will showcase centuries of art history and be a true learning extension of the classroom,” Seattle U says.
The siting of the museum isn’t final but the school is eyeing portions of its campus currently home to its large 12th Ave parking lot next to the school’s existing performance and exhibition space.
“We’re still working out logistics of the museum’s location but it will likely be on a plot abutting 12th Ave next to the Lee Center for the Arts,” a school spokesperson said. “We want to get started on it as soon as possible and expect that it will likely take three to five years to complete.”
The $25 million “seed funding” will only be a portion of the museum’s total cost.
In the announcement, Seattle U said Hedreen’s late wife Elizabeth “Betty” Ann Petri Hedreen attended the school and the family “was a longtime supporter of many of the university’s most vital artworks that are part of its existing permanent collection.”
Hedreen, who made a fortune buying, selling, and developing property in the city, will also stand to benefit from tax breaks tied to the massive donation.
Not all of Hedreen’s art holdings have been appreciated by the city. The Tom Otterness sculpture “The Miser” was displayed outside Hedreen’s Grand Hyatt Hotel and was called the “worst statue in Seattle” before it was replaced in 2015.
The Seattle U gift comes four years after Eduardo Peñalver took over as president of the university, replacing Father Stephen Sundborg at the private Jesuit school serving around 7,000 students from its campus on the south end of Capitol Hill. The museum would add to the university’s growth along 12th Ave.
In 2021, the Jim and Janet Sinegal Center for Science and Innovation, a five-story, 111,000-square-foot science and tech building designed as the school’s new main entrance, opened, rising above 12th Ave.
By 2028, the school had planned to complete a 10-year plan of development expanding its boundaries by 2.4 acres with 2 million square feet added to the campus.
Seattle U’s campus is already rich in art in architecture and many areas are open to the public to enjoy including the Vachon Gallery in the Fine Arts building which features student work and the work of established artists. The school’s Chapel of Saint Ignatius designed by Steven Holl is also considered to be one of Seattle’s best buildings.
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good stuff, though I’m honestly most excited about eliminating some of that nasty parking lot on 12th.
This is phenomenal news! What a gift to the city!
Great news for the neighborhood and city!