The Smithsonian Opens New State-of-the-Art Storage and Operations Facility

The Smithsonian Institution has consolidated and relocated three key collections storage and operations support spaces into a new facility called the Pennsy Collections and Support Center in Landover, Md. The center opened today, Dec. 5.

The renovated 360,000-square-foot facility, located at 3400 Pennsy Drive, features specialized office and training space, exhibit design and fabrication shops, conservation facilities, and climate-controlled space to house the Institution’s collections. The new space will also meet the storage needs for various museum programs, including those of Smithsonian Institution Libraries and the National Museum of American History. The growing collection for the yet-to-be-built National Museum of African American History and Culture (scheduled to be completed in 2015) also will be housed at Pennsy Drive.

“This wonderful new facility represents an innovative model for the Smithsonian that combines a variety of uses under one big roof,” said Jud McIntire, Smithsonian project manager for the site. “The critical mass of the Pennsy Collections and Support Center sets a milestone in increased efficiency and support capabilities for the Smithsonian’s mission.”

This new facility, recently acquired and renovated by Trammel Crow Co. of Dallas, has allowed the Smithsonian to consolidate obsolete leased facilities in Washington and Springfield and Newington, Va. Approximately 85 Smithsonian staff members will work at the facility. The new center is not open to the public.

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