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Jersey City Defunds Centre Pompidou Branch; Project Suspended

The Jersey City officials have pulled back from funding the new branch of the Centre Pompidou, causing it to be indefinitely suspended.

The Jersey City Museum, formally titled Centre Pompidou x Jersey City, is the first planned branch of the Paris-based museum in North America. The museum currently has branches in Belgium and China. The 58,000-square-foot museum was originally supposed to be completed earlier this year before it was delayed by a few years.

Since last year, the project has been frequently put under fire due to its massive budget. A significant portion of the funding for the project comes from the Jersey City administration. While Centre Pompidou never revealed official figures, it was reported last year that the project might cost upwards of $200 million, with $50 million coming from the city’s pockets.

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Last week, the Economic Development Authority of the city officially informed Centre Pompidou that they could no longer fund the ambitious project. Soon after, a museum spokesperson announced that due to lack of funding, the project is now indefinitely suspended. Furthermore, the city administration has announced that it would not provide the $18 million they had earlier approved for the project and asked the museum to return the $6 million they had already received. The museum responded: “The Centre Pompidou acknowledges the State of New Jersey’s decision. It remains committed to ongoing discussions with the Mayor of Jersey City to jointly determine the project’s future direction.”