STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Jennifer Wells Green could barely contain her excitement as she walked through the former Idaho BioScience Building, envisioning what its transformation into the Sun Valley Museum of Arts could mean.

She walked past cubicles that once accommodated lab workers, demonstrating how walls could be removed to make way not only for one or two exhibitions but traveling exhibitions and exhibits showcasing works by students and others.

And she gazed out the expansive windows that offer nearly a 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains as she envisioned more space to create two dedicated classrooms for art making and adult programs and larger spaces for lectures, First Friday gatherings and special events.

Community groups would be welcome to use those spaces, she said: “It could be a gathering place for other groups.”

She hugged a center post, noting that there are only four posts in the interior of the three-story building. Its open space nature makes it well suited for conversion into galleries, classrooms and flexible community spaces.

And, she noted, the building offers more visibility, accessibility what with being on the bike path, near a bus stop and near Hemingway STEAM School and the Wood River YMCA. It also has 31 off-street parking spaces.

“It would give us more opportunity to partner with the Y,” she said, looking out at the Y on the northeast side of the building.

The Sun Valley Museum of Art’s acquisition of the building at 101 Lewis Street would triple its physical footprint, offering 14,344 square feet compared to 3,850 square feet at its current location at 191 Fifth Street East.

The building boasts two upper floors and a basement. And there’s outdoor space that offers the potential for outdoor arts programming.

The Museum filed a Text Amendment to Add Cultural Facility as a conditional use within Ketchum’s Light Industrial 2 District on Friday. If approved it then needs to apply for a Conditional Use Permit, something the Museum anticipates could involve a nine-month process.

If the remodel work can be done quickly, The Museum could move into the new space in Fall 2027 or, at latest, early 2028, Green said.

“I think it’s more responsible to use an existing building than purchase land and build a new building,” she said. “The building is not that old—it was built in 2004 by Dave Wilson for Scott USA. It’s clean, in good shape. And it can’t be a better fit for the interior.”

Green began eyeing the vacant building a year and a half ago, trying to figure out what was going on with it. She first became aware that the building was on the market in February.

“I don’t think hardly anyone has ever seen the inside of it,” said Ava Scanlan, director of Marketing for The Museum.

Green noted that the Museum was founded 55 years ago in 1971 as the anchor of arts and culture in the Wood River Valley. More than 20,000 visitors attended events hosted by The Museum last year.

“We are taking this step to broaden the opportunities for all in our region to engage with contemporary art in a deeper, more meaningful way,” she said. “I am extremely grateful to our board of directors, who quickly rallied around this opportunity and believed in the possibilities an expanded home can offer this museum and this community.”  

Courtney Gilbert, Assistant Director and Curator for The Museum said that the building will accommodate expanded Ketchum classroom space, allowing The Museum to serve more student and adult learners and to present workshops of the same scale and caliber that it currently does in its Hailey Classroom.

“Additionally, dedicated program space will enable larger audiences to attend public programs, First Fridays, Museum Passport art history lectures and other special events,” she added.

An architect for the remodel and estimated budget will be selected once the project is approved by the City.  

“We are so excited to have found a building that allows us to breathe new life into an existing community asset,” said Joan Swift, president of The Museum’s board of directors. “Adaptive reuse is the right choice for SVMoA, it’s sustainable, it’s efficient, and it means we can realize this vision on a shorter timeline and within a responsible budget.”  

What was then named the Sun Valley Center for the Arts trotted out ambitious plans for a new building designed by the Seattle-based architect Tom Kundig in 2007 after starting a capital building campaign in 2005

The two-story, 43,000-square-foot museum-quality exhibition space would have included galleries with movable walls for rotating exhibits, a 240-seat state-of-the-art auditorium, expanded classrooms, an office and reception area, an underground parking garage and a multi-use landscaped park-like outdoor area.

The building with its melding of industrial sensibilities reclaimed brick, wood and extensive panels of glass and an angled roof mimicking the slopes of the Bald Mountain behind it.

But the 2008 recession hit and the building never became reality. Instead, the Sun Valley Museum of Art remodeled its current building in a 12-week project in 2023.

The Museum intends to allocate funds from its existing capital campaign fund towards the new facility, along with new donations. A capital campaign to raise additional funds for the renovations and The Museum’s endowment will be launched later this year.

The museum will continue to be free and open to all in its new space, Green said. In fact, ADA-compliant access will be improved.

The building is listed at $7.85 million, but Green said the owner has been very generous in working with The Museum on its acquisition.

John Stephenson, whose Santa Cruz biotechnology brought the building in 2008, said he and his wife Brenda could not have imagined a better new life for the building than as a community cultural asset.

"We’re proud to play a role in making that happen and look forward to watching SVMoA transform this space into a hub for arts programming and education that serves everyone in the Wood River Valley."