ST. PETERSBURG — The Dalí Museum recently announced plans for a $65 million expansion it says will serve the community, fuel education and strengthen the city. The new addition to the museum will feature state-of-the-art immersive experiences to engage and uplift visitors, according to the museum.

The approximately 35,000-square-foot expansion represents an investment in the museum’s future. Funding includes support from Visit St. Pete-Clearwater through its “From Visitors with Love” program, which uses tourist development tax (hotel bed tax) funds. The project is expected to get underway with a fall 2026 groundbreaking. The Dalí will remain open during construction. The expanded spaces should open in 2028.

Hank Hine, executive director of The Dalí Museum, said that this is a defining moment for the museum and for St. Petersburg.

“We are creating a museum that will stand with the great cultural institutions of the world, prepared to meet the expectations of today’s visitors and the curiosity of those who will walk through these doors decades from now,” Hine said. “It’s not about being bigger; it’s about being bolder. For more than four decades, The Dalí has led through innovation, empowering visitors to see differently and think expansively. This next chapter allows us to move beyond existing limitations and create space, intellectually and physically, for deeper learning, more ambitious experiences and broader access.”

The Dalí opened in 1982 in a repurposed marine warehouse on Third Street South. Following the debut of its landmark new home in 2011, the museum generated more than $1 billion in economic impact for the area. The Dalí Museum — at 1 Dalí Blvd. in St. Petersburg — stands as a global destination for interdisciplinary programming, innovation and scholarship. Since its opening, the Dalí has welcomed and inspired more than 10 million visitors.

The Beck Group, which built the museum’s current building, is designing and constructing the new expansion. During the design of the expansion, Beck Architecture consulted with Yann Weymouth, architect of the museum’s award-winning building, to ensure continuity across the institution.

Elements included in the expansion design include:

• A new exterior

• Flexible gallery environments for experiential exhibitions that blend art and technology

• A dedicated learning center serving K-12 students and lifelong learners

• Community-focused spaces designed to support, host and animate social, corporate and cultural events.

Together with the museum’s existing galleries, theater, dome and Avant-garden, the addition will create a dynamic campus that reflects how guests engage with art today and in the future.

“At The Dalí, we’ve always believed a museum should do more than preserve the past — it should ignite imagination, guide the present and shape the future,” Hine stated at DaliMuseumExpansion.org, a website detailing the vision and future of The Dalí’s expansion. The website offers project renderings and images.

For information on The Dalí, visit TheDali.org.

About The Dalí Museum

The Dalí Museum is home to a preeminent collection of the artist’s works, with more than 2,400 works representing every period and medium of Salvador Dalí’s creative life. The Dalí is recognized internationally by the Michelin Guide with its highest three-star rating. It has been named one of the 10 most interesting museums in the world by Architectural Digest.

Current exhibitions include:

• “Alberto Giacometti & Salvador Dalí: Through & Beyond Surrealism,” “The Endless Garden,” “Gala’s Wines,” and “Dalí and Harpo Marx,” on exhibit through April 19.

• “In Caravaggio’s Light: Baroque Masterpieces from the Fondazione Roberto Longhi,” and “Baroque Continuum: Caravaggio and the Caravaggisti Over Time,” on exhibit through March 22.

The Dalí is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. For visitor information, visit TheDali.org.