Facelift Coming For NYC's LGBT Center

New York City's beloved but decidedly ramshackle LGBT Center is about to begin a much-needed multimillion dollar facelift. Via New York Times:

A 14-month renovation is expected to begin by the end of the year. The $7.5 million project is being financed with $3.7 million from New York City and $2 million from New York State. A fund-raising effort will seek private donors for the remaining $1.8 million. Brian Ripel of RSVP Architecture Studio in Brooklyn and Nicola Mongelli of N-Plus Architecture + Design in Brooklyn are the architects. The center is now receiving bids from general contractors. Perhaps the first thing noticed by visitors to the renovated center will be what’s not in the lobby any longer: a high, forbidding central reception desk that conveys, unintentionally, the message that one must stop and announce one’s business, which couldn’t be further from the case. Visitors are free to come and go.

Among the many improvements will be the acoustics in the main meeting room, where I've strained my brain many times to hear over the clattering air conditioning. More renderings of the changes are at the link.