Johns Hopkins buying Washington D.C. journalism museum’s building

Johns Hopkins University is spending $372 million for a museum building on a prime stretch of real estate in the nation’s capital.

The Freedom Forum on Friday announced the sale of the Newseum property in Washington situated on Pennsylvania Avenue between Congress and the White House. The Baltimore-based university intends to use the building as a center for its Washington-based graduate programs.

The deal still needs to be approved by regulators. The museum devoted to journalism and the First Amendment will remain open to the public through 2019.

Jan Neuharth is chairwoman and CEO of the Freedom Forum, the Newseum’s creator and main funder. She says the group is committed to continuing the museum’s programs and will be exploring options to perhaps find a new physical location in Washington.