US civil and human rights museum secures funding
by Jessica Tasman-Jones | 08 Mar 2013
Financing to fund the first phase of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia, US, has been secured, with construction to start this month.
The US$125m (96m euro, £84m) project, which will detail the African-American civil rights movement and ongoing human rights issues, had been slow to secure funds due to the economic downturn.
However, on 7 March PNC Bank and Invest Atlanta announced US$24m (18m euro, £16m) support for the project.
The building will cost US$100m (76m euro, £67m) to construct and a US$25m (19m euro, £17m) endowment will support operations when the museum opens in mid-2014.
The Coca Cola Company, which runs nearby attraction The World of Coca-Cola, donated the 2.5-acre section where the museum will be built.
An estimated 700 construction jobs will be created over the next two years and a further 500 sustainable jobs will be created when it opens.
In 2009 the museum purchased exhibition rights to Morehouse College's 10,000-piece Martin Luther King Jr. collection, which includes handwritten notes and unpublished sermons.
Regional president for PNC Bank Eddie Meyers said: "The financing is a wise investment in economic development for our region and in support of the centre's mission to shed light on human rights struggles around the world."
Financing to fund the first phase of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia, US, has been secured, with construction to start this month. The US$125m (96m euro, £84m) project, which will detail the African-American civil rights movement and ongoing human rights issues, had been slow to secure funds due to the economic downturn. However, on 7 March PNC Bank and Invest Atlanta announced US$24m (18m
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