Eli Broad, left, and his wife, Edythe, are shown at the opening of Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA in Los Angeles on Feb. 9, 2008. The philanthropists announced a new $100-million museum on Monday. Eli Broad, left, and his wife, Edythe, are shown at the opening of Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA in Los Angeles on Feb. 9, 2008. The philanthropists announced a new $100-million museum on Monday. (Dan Steinberg/Associated Press)

Developer turned philanthropist Eli Broad has announced a multi-million dollar plan to erect a museum bearing his name in downtown Los Angeles.

The Grand Avenue Authority, an agency responsible for developing a new cultural district in downtown L.A., gave final approval for the project just before Broad's announcement Monday.

Eli and Edythe Broad, who own a renowned art collection with works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Salvador Dali and Joan Miro, had been considering other locations in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.

To be designed by New York-based architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the museum could cost up to $100 million, Broad said. A design will be unveiled this fall.

The Broads are paying $7.7 million to lease the land for 99 years, and they will endow the Broad Art Foundation with $200 million to cover ongoing annual operating expenses.

The museum will be built across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and will help anchor a part of the city being redeveloped as a cultural district.

Los Angeles city council and state officials have already approved the project.

"The museum will be an important cornerstone of the Grand Avenue project and play a pivotal role in the cultural and artistic renaissance currently under way," L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement.

There will be 4,600 square metres of gallery space, not enough to display all of the 2,000 works of art owned by the Broads. The project also includes lectures halls, a public lobby, an archive, study areas and art storage space.

The museum itself will take up more than 11,000 square metres. It is scheduled for completion in late 2012.

Eli Broad, who made billions as co-founder of developer KB Home and through the sale of insurer SunAmerica, has become a prominent supporter of the arts in Los Angeles.

He has given generously to MOCA, built in 1979; the Frank Gehry-designed Disney Concert Hall; and the High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in L.A.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro previously designed the renovation and expansion of Lincoln Center in New York City, the new Institute of Contemporary Art on the Boston harbor and the innovative High Line park in lower Manhattan.

With files from The Associated Press