As a not-for-profit organization needing access to capital to construct an addition and improve its facility, the Morris Museum turned to the EDA. With the support of $10 million in bond financing, the Morristown-based Morris Museum was able to construct an 8,000-square-foot addition and make related improvements to the existing 80,000-sqaure-foot museum in order to display a newly acquired exhibit - "Musical Machines and Living Dolls: Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata from The Murtogh D. Guinness Collection".

"Using low-cost financing made our $10 million construction project feasible," said Vice President of Finance & Administration Jean Aspen. "Higher interest rates on a loan of this size would have been unduly burdensome for the Morris Museum and would have made it considerably more difficult for the Museum to complete the construction while maintaining educational and other programs for which it has a long history."

The Morris Museum explores and celebrates the arts, sciences and humanities through exhibitions, educational programs, performing arts and special events. Founded in 1913, the museum serves nearly 200,000 adults and children each year.

As a result of the financing, approximately 240 construction jobs were created, as well as 6 new full-time jobs at the Morris Museum.