Project manager named for proposed art museum

The Modern Contemporary Art Museum — a proposed three-story, 35,000-square-foot complex — may not be ready to break ground for a year or two, but it has its first employee: Melanie Coffee, who’s been hired as project manager for the museum.

In Las Vegas for more than a decade, Coffee previously has held positions at several local museums, including UNLV’s Marjorie Barrick Museum, the Neon Museum and the Liberace Foundation, according to a news release. She has a master’s degree in museum studies and serves as a committee member for both the American Alliance of Museums and the Western Museum Association.

Coffee will work out of The Modern’s new public space in downtown’s Art Square, located at 1025 First St.

The proposed museum will anchor a two-acre, $29 million development at Charleston Boulevard and Art Way. In addition to the museum itself, the site would also house a 15,000-square-foot educational space, the Center for Creativity, as well as Luminous Park, an outdoor sculpture garden with interactive exhibits.

More information on the project (including drawings of the proposed museum complex) may be found online at www.themodernlv.org.