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When the New Museum of Contemporary Art moved to lower Broadway in 1983, it shared the block with sweatshops. Today, it rubs shoulders with Prada and Armani, and the property is so desirable that the museum will be able to finance a whole new building on the Bowery by selling it. The museum's new home will make a highfashion statement of its own.
"We're devoted to contemporary, cutting-edge design, and our new building will mirror that commitment," says Lisa Phillips, the museum's director.
Five of the planet's most innovative young architects, most of whom have no buildings in New York yet, are competing for the commission. "It will be a signature design in the Manhattan landscape," Ms. Phillips promises.
The New Museum is only one of more than a dozen cultural institutions that have recently completed or announced plans for new facilities here. Despite the sour economy, the city's culture business is bursting at the seams. Building new homes or expanding is seen as crucial to maintaining, and...