The Dia Foundation has scrapped plans to move its primary gallery space to the corner of Washington and Gansevoort Street in the Meat Packing District. When it was determined that rennovating the institution's former Chelsea home on 34th Street was not practical, the Gansevoort site - which would anchor the southern end of the High Line - became the leading contendor.

Dia's board chairwoman Nathalie de Gunzburg said in a letter to New York's cultural affairs commissioner, "Dia's board has decided that the organization should take a different course at this time."

Former Dia director Michael Govan first conceived the High Line being anchored by a cultural institution - an idea which the city of New York still seems keen on, and another high-profile art museum may be eyeing the site. A spokesperson for The Whitney Museum of American Art stated, "We are considering several sites for additional space and have had discussions with the city about the Gansevoort/Washington site."

This raises questions about the future of Renzo Piano's expansion design for the Whitney's home on the Upper East Side. It wouldn't be the first time for the Whitney, who have called-off expansion plans by Michael Graves in 1985 and Rem Koolhaas in 2003.

More at the NY Times.