The Nordic Heritage Museum has announced that the groundbreaking celebration for the new museum is set for July 30 at 3 p.m.

The new 57,875 square-foot facility located at 2655 N.W. Market St. is the culmination of years of planning and will take the place of the Fenpro studio space. Tenants of the Fenpro facility were asked to vacate the space earlier this year. NHM is currently operating in a Seattle Public School building. SPS has plans to refurbish the school and reopen it as an elementary school to meet the growing student demand.

According to NHM, the facility will have larger exhibition and educational spaces. Along with core exhibits, the museum is designed with an auditorium, a café, classrooms, museum store and a cultural resource center.

With the ground breaking, the museum is starting a public funding campaign. The museum is still raising funds for the $44.6 million project. Last January museum representatives told the Ballard News-Tribune that they had $5 million to go in order to reach their funding goal after they received a $4 million grant from A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation from Denmark.

NHM plans to hold opening ceremonies for the new facility in early 2018.
The public is invited to the groundbreaking event.