The Arab American National Museum (AANM) will rehabilitate and occupy the former Zamboni Room bar and Dynamic Mortgage office, located directly east of the Museum.   

Both spaces have been vacant for several years and are considered blighted; they will now comprise a 4,200-sq.-ft., single-story expansion of the existing 38,500-sq.-ft. AANM, which opened in 2005.     

The rehabilitation is being funded for approximately $385,000 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

Early architectural renderings of the rehabilitation project are currently being adjusted to reflect changes that have been requested by the City of Dearborn’s Zoning Board of Appeals; new renderings will be available for viewing within a few weeks.   

The project’s general contractors are Mike and Alina Hammoud of Vision Construction, based in Dearborn.  Designed to accommodate a number of uses, the new space will allow the AANM to expand programming by artists and performers. 

It will also house collaborative projects and ongoing partnerships between the AANM and local and national cultural institutions and offer community members a place to gather, or just relax, and be a part of the life of the Museum, says AANM Director Devon Akmon.    

The rehabilitation of these two properties represents phase one of a two-phase AANM expansion; this first phase will be completed later this fall, while the second phase is still in the planning stages, says Lina Hourani-Harajli, the business operations director for the Museum’s parent organization, ACCESS.