Since opening its doors in 2006, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit has made a name for itself in the international art world.

Now it's poised to achieve the one thing that's missing: a physical renovation of its building and outdoor site that matches its world-class reputation.

At Friday's 13th annual gala and benefit art auction, MOCAD will officially launch its Future Fund campaign to raise $15 million for capital improvements for a museum that shows the best and latest in the visual arts, but also serves as a hub for music, literary events, community gatherings and more.

Already, a major commitment is fueling that goal. The Taubman Foundation and Reyes Family Foundation are providing a $5 million Future Fund match, a commitment that is crucial to reaching the final figure needed for the project. The match means the foundations will contribute up to $5 million to match $5 million raised from other sources.

The contribution honors Julie Reyes Taubman, the photographer, author and MOCAD co-founder who died at 50 in 2018 after battling cancer. The proposed new facade of the museum will bear her name in the title: "MOCAD at the Julie Reyes Taubman Building."

More:MOCAD co-founder Julia Reyes Taubman, 50, dies after cancer battle

MOCAD's executive director Elysia Borowy-Reeder calls the renovation plans "a top-to-bottom transformation" to convey just how big and ambitious its scope is — not just for the museum, but for its role as a hub for Midtown Detroit.

This isn't about fixing the crumbling concrete floors or adding some nice landscaping. Borowy-Reeder and MOCAD's board of directors are out to multitask a better future. Their agenda includes improving the existing space for artists and visitors, providing a campus-like setting for events and social mingling, and using new design strategies that are environmentally sustainable and cost-cutting.

And through it all, they want to preserve the historical integrity of the MOCAD building on Woodward Avenue, which was designed by iconic Detroit architect Albert Kahn.

Overall, the approach sounds as forward-thinking as MOCAD's exhibitions, which have ranged from the whimsical, provocative sculptures of Brooklyn-based artist Kaws to "The Past is Present," which featured 15 newly commissioned murals connected to the 80th anniversary of Diego Rivera's landmark "Detroit Industry" mural.

Currently, MOCAD holds more than 250 public programs each year and stays busy even when it's closed, through private event rentals and Wellness Sundays that include yoga classes and a weekly AA meeting.

No wonder it's due for a makeover. "This campaign, what this vision does, is really gets us to be more than an art museum," says Borowy-Reeder. "We're a cultural center."

MOCAD's 'epic gamble'

Located inside an industrial-looking, 22,000-square-foot space that formerly was an auto dealership from the 1920s to 1950s, MOCAD formally made its debut 13 years ago. But its roots go back to 1995, when Marsha Miro, a former art critic for the Free Press, joined forces with the late Susanne Hilberry, a legendary gallery owner, to create a spot that would put Detroit on the contemporary art map.

The building was owned by philanthropist Richard Manoogian, through the Manoogian Foundation, and originally intended as a potential Detroit Institute of Arts offshoot. Instead, in part because the DIA was busy with its own extensive renovations, MOCAD was able to find a rent-free home there.

About six years ago, the Manoogian Foundation donated the building to MOCAD.

"I've chaired the board of the Detroit Institute of Arts for many years and we look at MOCAD as a partner on Woodward Avenue in bringing people ... to the Midtown area to enjoy great art," says Eugene Gargaro, a lawyer and retired Masco executive and longtime civic leader.

In many ways, creating MOCAD was gamble of epic proportions. "The building was in shambles pretty much. There was water pouring in the front gallery and it had been for a long time. You could tell it needed a lot of work," says Miro, MOCAD's founding director.

Miro recalls how the Woodward strip on either side of the building was mostly empty. There was a drug house across the street. "We were worried people wouldn't want to come," she says. "We had to have security whenever we were open, and sometimes when we weren't."

But Miro and her team had a secret weapon: the fearlessness and commitment of artists and art fans. "Creative people weren't afraid," she says. "They would come. They didn't care."

Through the quality and range of its exhibits and events, MOCAD established itself as "a locus of urban energy and a magnet for young creative types," as the Free Press described it in 2013.

That same year, Borowy-Reeder, who grew up in metro Detroit and East Lansing, came on board as executive director — bringing experience from prior jobs at several museums and a vision for expanding the schedule and outreach with programs like the MOCAD Teen Council, which helps empower young people in Detroit.

Also in 2013, MOCAD premiered "Mobile Homestead," an exact replica of the Westland childhood home of the late Mike Kelley, one of the most influential artists of the past 30 years and a prime figure of the conceptual art movement. The installation drew national attention.

During her tenure, Borowy-Reeder has helped MOCAD become a more organized and less intimidating presence. "She just took it and ran with it," says Miro of her leadership. "She's the one who brought it to this point now."

The current plans for the MOCAD site renovation have been crafted over the past year by architect Craig Borum, the founder of Ply+ architecture and design firm and a professor at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.

Borum's proposals are dotted with ideas that are creative yet pragmatic, money-saving without cutting corners. His ideas aim to make the space more inviting for artists and visitors while acknowledging factors like climate challenges.

One example? There will be a large floor-to-ceiling window on Woodward Avenue that echoes the building's auto showroom days, and also gives passersby a spacious glimpse at what's happening inside.

"We've been calling it the windshield," says Borum with a smile.

There are plans to transform the gravel parking lot in ways that allow it to double as a multipurpose plaza. By installing a permanent stage for MOCAD's summer concert series and getting rid of unsightly touches like the Dumpster that greets visitors at the rear of the building, Borum says it will take on a new identity.

"Rather than thinking of it as a parking lot that you can have a summer concert in, we're thinking of it as a place where you have an event that also sometimes accommodates parking. We're just trying to flip the equation."

Such changes are just the beginning. There also are plans for a hybrid heating and cooling system that uses natural ventilation to make air-conditioning more efficient and cost-effective at the same time, instead of "just throwing a big unit on the roof and blowing a lot of cool air into the space," as Borum puts it.

Right now, there is no air-conditioning at MOCAD and overhead gas heaters. The new system — utilized in Europe but mostly new to the United States — will better control temperature and humidity levels for the artwork and increase MOCAD's ability to make money by renting its space for events.

Borum also has a strategy for dealing with Detroit's hefty storm tax, the fee charged to residents and businesses essentially for rain and snow melt that falls on hard surfaces like driveways, flat roofs or parking areas.

It involves capturing storm water on the roof, filtering it through a number of planting beds and retaining some of it through porous paving in the parking lot. This way, water can be contained before slowly being released back into the sewer system.

One of the most visible changes would be the revamp of MOCAD's outdoor space into a greener, inviting campus that ties together the museum and "Mobile Homestead" and becomes a place for people to meet and hang out.

"It won't feel like there's a museum over here and then on the next block, there's the 'Homestead' site," says Borum, whose target is to start construction roughly a year from now.

There are also plans for a restaurant to replace MOCAD's existing cafe.

Borowy-Reeder says Borum is a perfect fit for the job. He became involved with the museum by handling the administrative side of the construction for "Mobile Homestead" and has continued to be a frequent visitor for exhibits and events.

"He understands us," says Borowy-Reeder.

That sort of personal commitment is a hallmark of the museum's supporters, from small donor all the way up to the $5 million match from the Taubman and Reyes families

"Julie loved MOCAD. She would be so proud of the important contributions the museum is making to the cultural fabric of our city," said her husband, Robert Taubman, in a statement to the Free Press.

"It inspires creativity and is a magnet and catalyst for the vibrant art scene that has blossomed in Detroit. The matching gift the Reyes and Taubman families are making celebrates Julie’s lasting vision and recognizes the critical role individual donations will play in the success of the museum’s capital campaign. MOCAD is a wonderful place, and our hope is that our challenge will motivate others to step up now with their support.”

MOCAD board chair Elyse Foltyn, who got involved with the museum at Julie Reyes Taubman's urging, said her friend had a passion for Detroit and art that was a marvel in itself.

Foltyn sees the matching fund as a tribute to her spirit. "I've always felt like I have her sitting on my shoulder. It's my challenge to make her happy, even now. Everything I think of is, 'How would Julie feel about this? What would she do in this situation?' I want to deliver her dream."

MOCAD's Future Fund campaign comes at a good time, according to Susan Mosey, executive director of Midtown Detroit, which has been working toward preserving and building the historic pocket of the city over four decades.

Mosey points to several nearby projects underway that will increase private housing and add to a neighborhood already enriched by MOCAD, the N'Namdi Center for Contemporary Art and Seva restaurant's Midtown location.

Ultimately, a renovated MOCAD will stand as a tribute to the people who made it happen, and on a broader scale, to the role that artists play in Detroit. Artists have always accepted Detroit for richer or poorer, in times of economic sickness and renaissance.

"There are so many wonderful artists who committed to the city and never left, who did art about the city when no one else was paying attention to us," says Miro. "Their commitment and the bridging of MOCAD brought other people who saw they could live in Detroit and make art."

Like most marriages, it's built on faith for the future — and it already has achieved much. Says Miro, "The two of us, the artists and MOCAD together, the artists committed to the city, (are) one leg of what has brought Detroit back."

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds: 313-222-6427 or jhinds@freepress.com.

Upcoming MOCAD exhibitions

'Richard Prince: Portraits'

Oct. 25 through Jan. 5

A collection of new portraits by Prince, who's famous for mining images from advertising, social media and celebrity culture and his provocative redefining of concepts like authorship.

'Crossing Night: Regional Identities x Global Context'

Oct. 25 through Feb. 2

Works that represent issues and ideas of artists from the Southern African region as they deal with the legacy of post-colonial structures.

'Robolights Detroit'

Oct. 25 through May 3

Artist Kenny Irwin Jr. is the creator of "Robolights," a sci-fi themed art installation that covers a large amount of outdoor space in Palm Springs, California. Irwin has created a site-specific version on the lawn of Mike Kelley's "Mobile Homestead" at MOCAD that integrates old technologies with his futuristic constructions. The late Julie Reyes Taubman, a MOCAD co-founder, chronicled Irwin's work with her photography. A book of her photographs will be available during the exhibition, as will a companion exhibit of Irwin's pen-and-ink drawings shown inside "Mobile Homestead."