Harvard finds temporary site to house art
The search is over. The Harvard University Art Museums has picked a former bank building in Allston for its temporary home when it closes its main facilities in 2008 as part of a massive renovation project.
The decision, announced yesterday along with Harvard's plans to create an arts and science campus in Allston, sets in motion a long-discussed project meant to update the Fogg and Busch-Reisinger museums, and eventually build a new space in Allston to house contemporary art.
''This means everything can move forward," said Emily Rauh Pulitzer, chairwoman of the Harvard University Art Museums visiting committee. ''There has been a need to renovate the Fogg for 50 years, but nothing can happen until the works of art and staff can move to another location."
The entire project, which includes the building of a new museum to add to the existing institutions, could take until 2015. Museum officials estimate that renovating the Fogg and Busch-Reisinger -- and the temporary space -- will cost more than $100 million.
The former Citizens Bank building, located at 1380 Soldiers Field Road, will house the majority of the 250,000 objects in the university's collection. The staff will also move there. The space was selected after the museum's staff looked at more than 30 potential sites, from Cambridge to the Fort Point Channel.
''It's the answer because it's the one site we saw in terms of availability, cost, flexibility, and location that allows us to keep on our timeline," said Thomas Lentz, the HUAM director.
The former bank building -- 85,000 square feet compared to the 123,000 square feet that make up the Fogg and Busch-Reisinger -- will also feature space for exhibitions. To maintain a presence on Harvard's Cambridge campus, the Sackler Museum, which is across the street from the Fogg, will remain open, with curators putting on display a sampling of the entire museum system's collection.
Lentz said that the decision to close the Fogg and Busch-Reisinger for three to four years was not made lightly. ''I'm confident we have the right teams and processes in place to make all of this happen, both in the Harvard Yard facility and what is going to be building in Allston," he said. ''The short answer, though, is nobody likes to do these things, but we have no other options."
Though the Citizens Bank space is being called an ''interim" site, Lentz said it will remain open even after the Cambridge renovations are done. Some members of the staff, and a portion of the collection, will remain in Allston. The temporary space isn't likely to close until a new, permanent museum meant to house contemporary art planned for Allston is ready to open. No site has been selected for that space.
Yesterday's announcement comes four years after Harvard decided to drop a plan to build a glass-walled, riverside museum in Cambridge. At the time, neighbors in Cambridge complained that Harvard had ''walled off" the river from the community, and that they didn't want any more large projects on the Charles. Architect Renzo Piano, who designed the ill-fated riverside museum, will probably be signed on for the renovation of the Cambridge museums. Lentz expects to name another architect for the bank space this spring.
''Our trick is to make this building work as an art museum," said Lentz. ''It has to look a certain way, it has to execute certain functions. On the other hand, we're mindful of the fact that this is a temporary home for us. We will be cognizant and sensitive to the amount of funding and resources we will ultimately sink into a temporary site."
Geoff Edgers can be reached at gedgers@globe.com. 
