The Wadsworth Atheneum, America’s oldest art museum, has announced it will launch a $16 million renovation program that will add 8,000 square feet of gallery space. This new renovation plan, which will increase the institution's capacity by 14 fourteen percent, replaces a 2003 proposal to build a $120 million expansion that was canceled for financial reasons.

The renovation will correct various structural issues throughout the Atheneum’s five buildings, add space for art commissions, and create two green roof areas. Unlike the earlier planned renovation, which would have shuttered the building for two years, this approach will allow the museum to stay open during construction. Officials hope to finish the project by the end of 2011.

Founded in 1842, the Atheneum currently has 57,000 of gallery space, which at the moment is given over to such exhibitions as a collaborative project between Willie Cole and Hank Willis Thomas and a solo project by Berlin–based artist Kitty Kraus.