The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., has announced pledges totaling $86 million for its expansion project.

To date, $135.9 million has been raised under the center's Building the Future capital campaign, which will fund the first new construction on the site since its opening in 1971, including a land-based river pavilion and pedestrian bridge. Located south of the existing facility, the three new pavilions will feature convertible, intimate venues, large gathering spaces with soaring ceilings filled with natural light, an outdoor wall for simulcasts, a dining café, and vistas onto the Potomac River. Slated to raise $125 million, the campaign's goal has been increased to $175 million.

New donations include gifts of $10 million each from Jacqueline Badger Mars and Stephen and Christine Schwarzman. According to Kennedy Center president Deborah F. Rutter, design and construction costs for the Expansion Project will be paid for entirely with privately contributed funds. The expanded facility is expected to open in 2018.

"We are enormously grateful for the enthusiasm and support of so many of our valued friends and benefactors," said Rutter. "The expansion and riverwalk serve as a new front door to the Kennedy Center as an arts destination. The fact that a project of this magnitude will be funded entirely through contributed donations is a testament to the shared passion for the arts in our community and in this country."