Arizona Museum of Natural History presents options: $84M renovation or $170M new building to expand exhibits and revenue

Leaders of the Arizona Museum of Natural History and a museum design consultant presented a two‑path plan Thursday for the museum: a substantial renovation estimated at about $84 million or a new, larger building estimated at about $170 million.

Simon Tiffany Adams, the museum director, said the facility’s current footprint and configuration limit the museum’s ability to serve Mesa residents and attract tourists. Consultant Spencer (Spence) Downey of Gallagher Design and Associates summarized a benchmarking study of 32 natural history and science museums and concluded Arizona’s museum underperforms peers in visitation and earned revenue because it lacks typical visitor amenities such as a permanent café, private‑event spaces and up‑charge experiences.

The consultant said the museum currently allocates roughly 60% of its building to exhibit space, leaving too little room for visitor amenities and back‑of‑house collections, research and education functions. The renovation option, Downey said, would reorganize and modernize the existing building but would shrink exhibit footprint and remain constrained by the 60,000‑square‑foot site; cost was estimated in the study at about $84 million (about $1,100 per square foot). The new building option would preserve exhibit capacity while adding event, food and beverage and expanded collections and education space; the study estimated an all‑in cost near $170 million (about $1,300 per square foot).

Downey said the museum misses earned‑revenue opportunities common elsewhere: among the 32 comparable institutions the team reviewed, the Arizona museum is one of only a few that do not offer a permanent food‑and‑beverage service, up‑charge interactive experiences or dedicated private‑event rental space. Those lines of business commonly increase earned revenue and support long‑term financial sustainability, the consultant said.

Adams and Downey urged the council to approve a next phase of work: concept and program design and a full economic‑impact and funding analysis. They said the next phase would cost roughly $600,000; museum representatives reported about $340,000 of private funding already secured and asked the city to consider the remaining roughly $260,000 from one‑time general‑fund resources to complete the design and economic work.

Council members and the presenters discussed key details: whether a new building would be built on the existing site (the consultants said the downtown site could accommodate a taller vertical building and that the historic territorial jail structure would be evaluated for preservation), how the museum could operate outreach or satellite programs during any multi‑year construction, and possible funding approaches combining public bonds with private philanthropy and corporate sponsorships.

Adams stressed the museum’s unique local and scientific assets — the museum’s collections on Arizona’s deep geological and cultural history — and argued that a larger, modernized museum would produce greater economic impact, more jobs and deeper engagement with residents and tourists. Council members signaled support for proceeding to the next study phase and asked for more detail on likely funding stacks, naming/sponsorship tradeoffs and a time line for the concept/design work that could lead to a bond measure in a future cycle.

The presenters said the planning schedule would be aggressive: an RFP for concept work in late summer, consultant work through early next year, and a concept and funding package for council consideration in spring 2026 that could inform a bond proposal thereafter.

Speakers quoted or referenced in this article are: Simon Tiffany Adams, director, Arizona Museum of Natural History; Spencer Downey (consultant), Gallagher Design and Associates.