A US$21.8m (€16.5m, £13.1m) building paid for by the city of Los Angeles, US, but never used, is finally set to open as a museum 16 years after it was supposed to.

Dubbed the Discovery Cube Los Angeles, the facility will open 13 November and will operate in tandem with the long-established but recently-renamed Discovery Cube Orange County Santa Ana – previously known as the Discovery Science Center.

Opening more than a decade later than planned and under a different plan, the 71,000sq ft (6,596sq m) area, which features an outdoor courtyard, is expected to draw 180,000 visitors in its first year.

Due to rulings on the non-profit former Discovery Science Center, the city of LA would have been liable to pay more than US$16.2m (€12.3m, £9.8m) in wasted public construction funds if a museum didn’t open in the empty building by March 2015.

The renovation of the building, in addition to installing exhibits, has cost US$22.4m (€16.9m, £13.5m), with US$2m (€1.5m, £1.2m) being paid for by Discovery Science Center, and the remainder covered by the city.

Exhibitions will cover a range of topics including astronomy, health and nutrition, natural resources and the environment.

Discovery Cube in Santa Ana is also to undergo a significant extension, adding a 44,000sq ft (4,000sq m) new wing to the existing building, which will cost US$22m (€16.6m, £13.2m) and is expected to open at some point during 2015. The expansion will also include a 500-seat theatre and is being financed 50:50 between the museum and a bank loan.