Steel beams bearing the signatures of Motown legends are now locked into place above Hitsville U.S.A., marking the final construction phase of a $75 million expansion that will reshape Detroit’s most famous music museum and the historic neighborhood around it.
Motown Museum held a beam-signing ceremony at Hitsville on Thursday, Nov. 13, celebrating a major construction milestone for what is now officially named The Motown Experience. Chairwoman Robin Terry led the program, joined by Motown alumni, donors, community leaders and key project partners. The ceremony included remarks, a blessing of the space from Rev. Wendell Anthony, and the signing of the final structural beam, which is a symbolic act meant to anchor the next chapter of Motown’s story in steel.
Some of the names on that beam helped build the Sound of Young America the first time around. Signatures included the son of Levi Stubbs, the late lead singer of the Four Tops, and Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas, alongside Terry herself, granddaughter of Motown Museum founder Esther Gordy Edwards and niece of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. Their names along with other powerhouses will sit at the top of the new 50,000-square-foot campus that will tell those stories for decades to come.
The expansion, first announced in late 2016, will grow Motown Museum into a nearly 50,000-square-foot entertainment and education destination. The project will feature immersive and interactive exhibits, a performance theater, a recording studio, expanded retail and flexible meeting spaces designed by nationally recognized architects and exhibit designers. Behind the original Hitsville house, a nearly 40,000-square-foot new structure will include a lobby and café, the Ford Motor Company Theater and an expanded retail experience, all designed to move visitors from the narrow original studio space into a larger narrative about Black creativity, entrepreneurship and global cultural influence.
Fundraising for the expansion has now reached $72 million, bringing the museum to the brink of its $75 million goal. The final phase of construction is underway and scheduled to be completed in late 2026, with a grand opening planned for spring 2027.
Terry, who has led every phase of the expansion from concept to capital campaign, framed the project as both preservation and course correction. Demand has already outgrown the historic house museum model.
“It’s one of the most visited attractions in the state of Michigan, and oftentimes there are fans that can’t get in because we’re sold out,” said Terry. “We’ve really committed this space to telling those stories. Stories of unsung heroes and sung heroes.”
Those stories sit at the center of a changing leadership structure as well.
Alongside the construction milestone, Motown Museum announced the appointment of Dr. Kenya LeNoir Messer as its new Chief Executive Officer, following a 15-month national search. Dr. Messer will oversee day-to-day operations while Terry remains Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees and continues to drive the expansion through its final fundraising and construction stages.
“Dr. Messer brings the kind of leadership, cultural expertise and insight, and proven experience that make her the right leader at the right moment for our institution,” said Robin Terry, Chairwoman of Motown Museum. “As Chairwoman, I remain deeply committed to advancing my grandmother’s legacy and continuing to work closely with Kenya and our Board of Trustees.”
Dr. Messer arrives with senior leadership experience at Columbia University and Wilberforce University and most recently served as President and CEO of the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. She is also a published author and longtime cultural board trustee whose work has focused on organizational growth, equity and impact.
“It is a profound honor to join the Museum at such a pivotal moment full of momentum,” said Dr. Messer. “This institution holds an important place in American history—rooted in legacy, creativity, and transformative cultural impact. I am deeply humbled to work with Robin and the incredible team, as we shape the Museum’s next chapter and deepen its reach in the community and beyond.”
Together, Terry, Dr. Messer and Chief Operating Officer Sharri Watkins, along with the museum’s Board of Trustees, will guide the institution through the final stretch of construction and into a new operating reality. That reality reaches far deeper than tourism and ticket sales; it highlights how a Black-founded, Black-led cultural institution uses its footprint to drive jobs, stability and pride in the surrounding Detroit neighborhoods.
When completed, the campus is expected to have a “transformative impact” on the historic area by providing employment opportunities, long-term sustainability and community pride while serving as a catalyst for new investment and tourism. That language reflects a larger conversation in Detroit about who benefits when legacy Black cultural spaces become global destinations and how those spaces can anchor, rather than displace, longtime residents.
Motown Museum will remain open to visitors through Jan. 19, 2026.
Tours will pause beginning Jan. 20, 2026, to allow for necessary upgrades and construction work to prepare the campus for the expansion’s completion. During that time, the museum’s leadership will be managing a complex transition: maintaining the authenticity of the original studio spaces, integrating new technology and exhibition design, and positioning the institution to operate at a larger scale once the full Motown Experience opens in 2027.
