New York firm buys Miami art-dedicated storage facility Museo Vault for $50M
Miami art storage facility Museo Vault is now UOVO Miami, after a $50 million acquisition by a New York firm.
The art storage company UOVO acquired Museo Vault’s 85,000-square-foot moving and storage facility in Wynwood last week, according to Steven Guttman, UOVO’s founder and co-chairman of the board of directors, and a longtime Miami resident.
Although it acquired the lease to Museo Vault’s storage space in West Palm Beach, UOVO also is developing a 50,000-square-foot facility in the area and expects it to open by 2022.
Museo Vault built its Miami facility in 2008 with guidance from art insurance consultants, who advised the owners on how to construct tailored, purpose-built art storage for a variety of works.
Also in downtown: Fortress Storage, which has offered art storage and moving services since 1983. The two companies are not affiliated.
The facility is kept at 50% relative humidity and 70 degrees Fahrenheit — “the optimal environment for storing artworks,” Guttman said. In the past, the company has handled a wide range of artworks, including huge sculptures, Egyptian mummies and even airplanes.
Other services include transportation, installation, packing, crating and inventory management. UOVO Miami’s current clients include collectors, galleries, museums, institutions and artists, Guttman said by email.
“UOVO has become recognized as the market leader in the New York region and has been waiting for the right opportunity to expand for some time,” Guttman said.
UOVO now owns a total of seven storage facilities, including in New York and Delaware. The Wynwood facility is the company’s first location in Florida.
Guttman is betting on art storage in South Florida, noting the migration of New York-based collectors and galleries to Miami and Palm Beach over the last year. More than a handful of New York art sellers expanded to South Florida in 2020, including Acquavella, Pace Gallery and Sotheby’s auction house, which all opened branches in Palm Beach.
“As a Miami resident, I have seen this region change considerably over the last 20 years as the Miami art scene has evolved rapidly,” Guttman said by email. “Miami has become an international player in the art world, and we are confident that the area will continue to see significant growth.”
This article was updated to correct details about the number of art-storage facilities in Miami.
This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
