NEW YORK CITY—The Whitney Museum is heading back downtown. In avant-garde fashion befitting a New York cultural institution, the museum broke ground yesterday on its new building, a Renzo Piano-designed structure that will rise between Gansevoort and West streets, nestled against the southern entrance to the High Line. Some $508 million has been raised toward the $720-million total cost for the building’s construction.

Breaking Ground, a commissioned piece by choreographer Elizabeth Streb, kicked off the groundbreaking itself. Streb stood beneath a barrel filled with dirt, which emptied onto her head during the performance.

The Whitney will move from its current home at 945 Madison Ave. to the new building upon its completion--expected some time in 2015. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has partnered with the Whitney to lease the landmark Breuer building, where it will provide exhibitions and educational programs, according to a release.

At yesterday’s groundbreaking, Mayor Michael Bloomberg referenced the Meatpacking District’s vibrant restaurants, shops, residential buildings and hotels. “The Whitney really saw the potential in the neighborhood long before any of that happened,” Bloomberg said. “So they really are at the edge--they are what we would call cutting edge or avant-garde.”

“This has been part of our vision for a renewed downtown, and now the High Line, together with the Whitney is going to establish this neighborhood as one of the most exciting, dynamic and unique parts of our city--or in fact, any city,” the mayor continued.

Robert Hammond, co-founder and executive director at Friends of the High Line, told GlobeSt.com that the High Line had worked with Renzo Piano, primarily to ensure that its new facilities meshed with the Whitney building itself. “Our maintenance and operations building will be sort of tucked in to the Whitney building,” Hammond said. That High Line facility is set to open in 2013--earlier, Hammond hopes, than the museum itself.

Yesterday’s groundbreaking was a long time coming--a fact that Bloomberg referenced, saying that naysayers had either changed their minds or decided to stay home. The building will be nine stories, and 200,000 square feet, 50,000 square feet of which will be indoor gallery space. It is expected to gain a LEED silver rating from the US Green Building Council.