Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Public plaza plans will expand the garage underneath The Broad museum, and CRA is proposing to increase its contribution to $52 million.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Between construction funds and an endowment, Eli Broad is putting approximately $300 million into the Bunker Hill museum that will be the headquarters of his Broad Art Foundation. Add in the cost of the 2,000 piece art collection that he and wife Edyth have collected over the years, and their total involvement is approximately $2 billion.

In that light, it is easy to see the Community Redevelopment Agency’s contributions as mere pocket change. On Thursday, the CRA’s board will vote on a motion to increase the agency’s financial involvement in the project to “an amount not to exceed $52 million” (Board Report, PDF).

That number is up from the $30 million that the board approved in July.

The increased budget will fund an expansion of the garage facility underneath the museum and the construction of a public plaza intended to connect Grand Avenue, the museum and the upcoming Regional Connector station at 2nd and Hope.

The total project cost is listed at $46.5 million, up from a $43 million used in a report submitted to City Council on Tuesday. That list showed $26.5 million for the museum’s parking structure, $8.5 million for a plaza proposed to wrap around the museum, $2.6 million for shoring and site work, $1 million in sidewalk improvements and nearly $4 million in “soft costs” such as design costs and permit fees.

Early in the life of the museum project, Broad donated $7.7 million to the CRA for affordable housing after Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich expressed concerns over the $1-per-year rent proposed for the museum’s 99-year lease.