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France’s iconic Pompidou Centre in Paris has called off its plan to open its first US branch in Jersey City – strictly speaking in the state of New Jersey, but considered a suburb of New York – in 2027.

The museum says that the project has been “suspended until further notice,” confirming reports in the US media.

With its financing a source of controversy from the outset, the project’s future was thrown into real jeopardy when local authorities in New Jersey withdrew public funding on Saturday.

“While we are honoured that Jersey City was selected as the first North American location for a Centre Pompidou facility, we have decided to pause this project indefinitely,” wrote Tim Sullivan, CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, in a letter obtained and published by the New Jersey Monitor. 

In the letter, Sullivan said that the project was “no longer feasible”, citing “an irreconcilable operating gap” and the “financial burdens it will create for New Jersey’s taxpayers,” among other factors.

In a further financial blow, the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency – which had been due to fund the project to the tune of $18 million (€16.7 million) – appealed to the Paris art museum to return the $6 million (€5.6 million) of state funding it had already received.

This setback comes as the Pompidou Centre in Paris is preparing to shut down for prolonged renovations – a project that could take up to five years to complete, at an estimated cost of €262m.

Though the French state is funding asbestos removal and renovation, the Pompidou Centre is planning to spend an additional €186 million to redevelop its art spaces, an initiative for which the museum must find other funding sources.

Centre Pompidou x Jersey City was slated to be the fifth overseas centre for the Pompidou Centre, which has already opened or co-created outposts in Malaga, Shanghai and Brussels, as well as working with the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Additional sources • AFP