Art collectors Mera and Don Rubell, who have made a name for themselves as promoters of cutting-edge work with their private museum in Miami, have now announced that they will open a new contemporary art center in D.C. Functioning as a satellite for their estimable collection, the new contemporary-art museum will be located in a building that they purchased from the Corcoran Museum of Art in partnership with the Telesis real estate development firm for $6.5 million.

The museum, in D.C.'s Southwest neighborhood, will measure about 20,000 feet and could also feature a hotel and residences. The partners plan to keep the original façade of the Randall School, which last housed students in the late 1970s.

The Corcoran purchased the building for $6.2 million in 2006 and planned to use it as an exhibition site, though financing of that deal fell through, which led to the sale to the Rubells and Telesis. Art blogger Tyler Green has drawn attention to the fact that the Corcoran is planning to show an exhibition of work owned by the Rubells later this year, though officials at the museum say that it is not related to the sale.

Read more at the Washington Post.