NEW YORK—After abandoning its much-contested plan to expand its presence on the Upper East Side, the Whitney Museum of American Art is putting several neighboring Madison Avenue townhouses up for sale, reports Crain's New York Business.

The museum has reportedly approached realtor CB Richard Ellis to sell five townhouses on Madison Avenue between East 74th and East 75th Streets, from which it hopes to bring in $60 million. The money would then be funneled into the museum's planned new building in the Meatpacking district, designed by Renzo Piano and scheduled to open in 2012.

The townhouses, located in a historic district, were to be included in a renovation and expansion that would involve the construction of a tower behind them, also designed by Piano. The museum secured the necessary approvals but scrapped the plan in 2006 amid bitter opposition from Upper East Side residents and preservationists. The buildings are all empty now except for two retail tenants.