- November 19, 2024
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Ormond Memorial Art Museum's upcoming $3 million renovation project continues to move forward as the Ormond Beach City Commission unanimously approved a special exception on Wednesday, Sept. 23, allowing for five wall signs on the new building.
OMAM, located at 78 E. Granada Blvd., is seeking to construct a three-story building in place of the 1998 addition to the south of the museum. The original 1946 building that fronts East Granada Boulevard will be preserved, and the new addition, which will have a rooftop terrace, will not encroach on the existing gardens.
A neighborhood meeting will be held at the museum at 6 p.m. on Sept. 30, to present the plans to the community.
“It is a classy building," City Commissioner Susan Persis said. "It is going to add to Ormond Beach. It’s going to be just wonderful.”
Persis said she knew a lot of work had been put in by the museum board and its volunteers to come to this point in time, and she was thrilled for the project.
City Commissioner Troy Kent expressed similar sentiments, complimenting the dedication of the board and museum staff, as well the preservation of veteran history; OMAM was built by World War II veterans.
“This has exceeded my expectations thus far, and I know it’s just going to continue to do that," Kent said. "What a great partnership we have with this one-of-a-kind museum.”
Museum Director Susan Richmond said they were excited and nervous to start the project, which she told the Ormond Beach Observer in late June could break ground sometime in October. Richmond also mentioned the museum's partnership with the city. In November 2018, the commission approved a 50-year building lease between the city and the museum.
“Since 1946, that’s the end of the World War II, what’s kept [OMAM] going has been volunteers working with the city," Richmond said. "It’s just an amazing partnership.”
A second reading of the special exception will occur at the commission's next meeting on Oct. 6.
