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Could the next move for the ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½eum be to Maryland?

The ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½eum attracts more than 800,000 visitors a year, the most for any D.C. museum that charges an admission fee. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)(AP/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON — Now that the ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½eum has agreed to sell its gorgeous glass and steel building on Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C., at least one group hopes to bring the attraction to Maryland.

The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation is working up a proposal in hopes of luring the ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½eum there. Corporation President and CEO David Petr confirmed the plan to ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ via email, but no details are available at this point.

The effort was first reported .

The ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½eum first opened in Rosslyn in 1997, and moved to its current location in 2008.

In 2017, The Freedom Forum, which created the museum and is its main funding source, announced that for financial reasons, it would explore the possibility of selling its D.C. building.

Last week came word of a deal to sell it to Johns Hopkins University for more than $372 million.

In a statement that day, The Freedom Forum’s chair and CEO Jan Neuharth said, “With today’s announcement, we can begin to explore all options to find a new home in the Washington, D.C. area.”

The ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½eum plans to stay open in its current space through 2019.

Michelle Basch

Michelle Basch is a reporter turned morning anchor at ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½.

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