MIAMI—More than 300 civic, business and cultural leaders gathered Wednesday morning to celebrate the official grand opening of Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) to the public. In honor of opening week, museum admission will be free to Miami-Dade County residents from December 4-8.

The grand opening included a ribbon-cutting ceremony and speeches by PAMM Board of Trustees chair Aaron Podhurst, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, Miami-Dade County Chairwoman Rebeca Sosa, and City of Miami Chairman Marc Sarnoff. Other elected officials were also present.

The museum will offer 200,000 square feet of programmable space, including 120,000 square feet of interior space. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron, the new museum will also include about 80,000 square feet of exterior program space for the display of works of art, educational activities, relaxation and dining. PAMM is located alongside Biscayne Bay in Museum Park.

“In addition to gallery spaces, the new museum will house an auditorium, an educational complex with a library, classrooms, and a media lab; a waterfront restaurant and museum store; and a variety of outdoor spaces for special events and programs,” says John Safranek, CFO of PAMM. “We are confident that Jones Lang LaSalle has the right team of experts to manage such a wide variety of offerings and activities.”

PAMM will be an anchor of the 29-acre Museum Park overlooking Biscayne Bay. Museum Park, a mix of green space and cultural offerings, is Miami's urban redesign vision for the area now known as Bicentennial Park. In addition to the landmark new facilities for PAMM, Museum Park is also the future site of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science.