Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Eli Broad, the billionaire art collector and philanthropist, wants to build a public museum in Beverly Hills, California, almost a year after he decided not to give his collection to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The gallery would display works from his charitable foundation and personal collection, an attorney for Broad wrote in an Oct. 20 letter to Beverly Hills City Manager Roderick Wood. The proposal includes offices for Broad's art foundation, which along with a second Broad foundation has assets of $2.5 billion.

Broad would like the new museum and offices for the Broad Art Foundation to open in about three years, Joanne Heyler, director and chief curator of the foundation, said in an interview. The facility would house art currently stored or displayed across the Los Angeles region, she said.

``There are other sites we are looking at but this is one we are taking very, very seriously,'' Heyler said. She declined to discuss those other sites. ``The Broads have had a longstanding commitment that contemporary art works in their collection are seen by the broadest audience.''

The proposed museum would be located near the corner of Santa Monica and Wilshire boulevards, and replace a Starbucks Corp. coffee shop. The closest neighbor would be Sony BMG, which is moving its California offices to the former headquarters of talent agency CAA Inc. The Peninsula and Beverly Hilton hotels would be on either side of the museum.

Donation Canceled

Broad led efforts to add a contemporary art annex, which opened in February, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The $56 million Broad Contemporary Art Museum includes 60,000 square feet of gallery space on three floors.

Its opening followed Broad's January announcement that he won't donate his collection of some 2,000 artworks to the County Museum or any other institution. Instead, the Broad Art Foundation will continue to hold the collection and lend it to galleries and museums around the world.

Works in the foundation's collection include photographs by Cindy Sherman, paintings by Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol's 1986 silkscreen of the Statue of Liberty, Damien Hirst's 1994 lamb in formaldehyde, and Charles Ray's 1973 collection of 16 Kodachrome self-portraits called ``All My Clothes.''

Space for Study

``We want a new headquarters, a space to have works that are not on loan to others at any given moment available for study by curators and scholars,'' Heyler said.

The scope and cost of the new facility will depend on the location that's finally chosen, said Heyler, who declined to discuss talks with property owners. The foundation also hasn't decided what to do with its headquarters and private museum in Santa Monica, overlooking the ocean.

The Beverly Hills project won't interfere with the foundation's ability to purchase art and loan out the collection, Heyler said.

Architecture firm Gensler is advising the Broad foundation, Marty Borko, a principal in the company's office in Santa Monica, California, said in an interview. An architect will be chosen at a later time to design the facility.

At a Sotheby's auction in New York last week, Eli Broad purchased Ed Ruscha's 1969 mustard-hued ``Desire'' for $2.4 million, as well as a Donald Judd aluminum and Plexiglas sculpture for $1.1 million, a small Robert Rauschenberg painting for $2.6 million, and a Jeff Koons sculpture for $2.2 million.

Broad was unavailable today to comment on his Beverly Hills plans, spokeswoman Karen Denne said.

Homebuilder

Broad founded Los Angeles-based KB Home, formerly known as Kaufman & Broad, with Donald Kaufman in 1957. He later founded retirement-fund company SunAmerica Inc., now part of American International Group Inc. Broad's fortune is valued by Forbes magazine at $6.7 billion, making him the 48th richest person in the U.S.

Plans for the museum were reported earlier by the Beverly Hills Courier newspaper.

Beverly Hills spokeswoman Cheryl Burnett provided the letter from an attorney representing Broad. She said the city wouldn't comment until more details of the project are provided.

The attorney, Thomas S. Levyn of Glaser, Weil, Fink, Jacobs & Shapiro LLP in Los Angeles, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net; Daniel Taub in Los Angeles at dtaub@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 17, 2008 18:43 EST