The Getty, is selling bonds for $500 million to help preserve the Getty Center and the Getty Villa as California prepares for another fire-risk summer.
The J. Paul Getty Trust is expected to sell the bonds on April 3, Bloomberg first reported. Proceeds will be used to invest in in new boilers, irrigation and surveillance systems, water storage and firefighting equipment.
The trust, which oversees the collection of the late oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, is making its preparations as homes and institutions across California face a third straight year of elevated fire risk.
The nonprofit, which was founded in 1953, operates out of two locations in the Los Angeles area; the Getty Center in Brentwood and the smaller Getty Villa in the Pacific Palisades. The sites escaped some of the most destructive wildfires in the state’s history relatively unscathed.
That both museums survived the fires without damage to buildings or its art collection is attributed to structural defenses that were incorporated into their designs, ongoing maintenance, and a long-standing fire response plan.
The Getty Center was closed for about three weeks following the January fire before it reopened. The Getty Villa remains closed and is expected to reopen in June.