Ground Is Officially Broken on Met Museum's 'David H. Koch Plaza' The Metropolitan Museum of Art held a formal ground-breaking on Monday morning for the $65 million makeover of its plaza and fountains, a project that has been under construction since October. Wearing hard hats and brandishing shovels - both bearing the Met's logo - museum and city officials ceremoniously dug into the dirt on the plaza. The two-year-project is being funded by David H. Koch, the Met trustee and philanthropist who in 2008 pledged $100 million to renovate the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, which was renamed for him. In February, when the Met first announced its renovation, it said it would not name the plaza after Mr. Koch, but officials there have changed their minds. When it opens to the public in the fall of 2014, the words "The David H. Koch Plaza" will be discreetly displayed on the north and south fountains. Why the change of heart? "As the board reflected on the generosity and level of commitment that David's gift represents, we thought it was the right thing to do," said Thomas P. Campbell, the Met's director, after the ceremony. The four-block-long stretch along Fifth Avenue, from 80th to 84th Street, has not been remade since 1968. By last year, the fountains were leaking, the sidewalk was crumbling and trees were dying. Overcrowding on the museum's grand front steps has also become a problem. Plans call for transforming the plaza into a more efficient and environmentally friendly space, with new fountains, tree-shaded allées, seating areas, museum-run kiosks and softer, energy-efficient nighttime lighting. Olin, the Philadelphia landscape architecture and urban design firm behind the renewals of Bryant Park and Columbus Circle, has planned the project and is its lead designer. After the ceremony, Mr. Koch said having the plaza named after him is "a great honor."