Eli Broad, the man who funded the bulk of – and gave his name to – the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Broad Contemporary Art Museum, is reportedly to build his own museum just down the road.

The New York Times quoted a letter that Broad’s lawyer sent to the city manager of Beverley Hills, saying he was interested “in bringing first-class public art museum and adjacent foundation offices to the City of Beverley Hills”.

The paper said that Broad was considering a site just three miles west of the Los Angeles County Museum, a reversal from his statement earlier this year when he said he had decided to retain permanent control of his art collection in a private foundation.

According to the letter, Broad has hired Gensler architects to advise him on the new project.

Eli Broad, pronounced ‘brode’, is ranked by Forbes as the 42nd richest person in the US, with a net worth of around US$5.8bn (£3.8bn, 4.6bn euro).