- December 25, 2024
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Dick Corbett, a property developer who’s responsible for more than $1 billion in real estate ventures, including the 3 million-square-foot Tampa International Plaza, has donated $25 million to the Tampa Museum of Art, which will use the gift to fund a renovation and expansion project that kicked off in 2020.
Corbett, CEO and president of Tampa-based Concorde Cos., has been a prolific philanthropist over the years, according to a news release. In addition to the Tampa Museum of Art, he’s given $35 million to his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. He and his wife, Cornelia, have been supporters of the Tampa Museum of Art for “decades,” says Jerry Divers, chairman of the Tampa Museum of Art Foundation and head of the museum’s Centennial Capital Campaign for Renovation and Expansion.
Divers adds, via the release, “Our community is blessed by so many other significant gifts and legacy projects developed and funded by Dick Corbett. His contributions have been bold catalysts for effective, broad-based public and private projects.”
The museum’s renovation and expansion project will grow its footprint from 69,000 to 120,000 square feet and expand its exhibition and collections space from 14,800 square feet to 43,000 square feet, according to the release. Tampa Museum of Art Executive Director Michael Tomor says Corbett’s gift “makes history in Florida’s art community because it constitutes the single largest private donation ever made to a public art museum and art education center in this state.”
Corbett, in the release, states, “The Tampa Museum of Art strengthens arts and culture in our vibrant city and opens the eyes of schoolchildren to the power of beauty and imagination. I am proud to make this historic gift to TMA in celebration of its centennial anniversary. My hope is that it will encourage others who have the means to give back to also join in and support the growth of the museum’s world-class exhibits and programs.”
