Center City Insights
An Update on the Transformation of the UArts Campus
August 2026
Center City Insights
Center City Insights
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UArts Campus Transformation
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Center City Insights
In the summer of 2024, the University of the Arts abruptly closed. The institution, whose roots stretched back to 1876, left more than 1,000 students without a university to return to and hundreds of faculty and staff without jobs. The impact on Center City was immediate as the energy, foot traffic, creativity and economic activity of this community evaporated overnight. The loss of an institution that produced generations of artists and entertainers who made Philadelphia a more interesting and exciting place leaves a permanent cultural void. The closure also left vacant nine properties and roughly 760,000 square feet of real estate in the heart of Center City. Within a year of UArts’ bankruptcy, every property had a new owner, each proposing a new use or mix of uses for their buildings. Rather than compounding the loss, Center City’s mixed-use ecosystem can absorb it, and creates opportunities for new hubs of creativity and culture to emerge. Investment from Philadelphia’s institutions and developers is giving these buildings new life. Here is where each building stands today.
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UArts Campus Transformation
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Center City Insights
Hamilton Hall and Furness Hall
320 S. Broad Street & 1499 Pine Street Now: Village of Industry & Art
Scout, the developers of the Bok building, acquired Hamilton and Furness halls in March 2025 and relaunched the pair as the Village of Industry & Art. Hamilton Hall, constructed in 1826, has been converted to spaces for makers, arts groups, offices and events, with over 50 businesses currently operating. Furness Hall previously was a dorm and will be renovated to 45 affordable housing units for artists. Frankie’s Summer Club operates as a seasonal outdoor restaurant in the courtyard of Furness Hall.
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UArts Campus Transformation
Terra Hall
211 S. Broad Street
Now: Temple University Center City Campus (in progress) Temple University bought Terra Hall, the largest building in the portfolio at 274,000 square feet, and will use it to expand its Center City campus. The campus will have space for 2,000 students from the current campus, 300 students from Temple’s Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts, and about 90 from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture. Temple plans to use the black box theater, 150-seat auditorium, dance studio, and recording studio inherited from the building.
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Center City Insights
Philadelphia Art Alliance
251 S. 18th Street
Now: Curtis Institute of Music, vocal and opera department (in progress) The Curtis Institute of Music acquired the former Philadelphia Art Alliance building facing Rittenhouse Square in January 2025 with the intent of extending its campus by a half block. Despite a major fire on July 4, 2025, the building will undergo a $25 million renovation with two 1,000-square-foot event spaces for lectures and master classes on the first floor, six teaching and coaching rooms plus a student lounge on the second, a 2,900-square-foot rehearsal room on the third, and a catering kitchen, costume shop, and storage below. The building will become the home of Curtis’ vocal and opera department.
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UArts Campus Transformation
Anderson Hall 333 S. Broad Street
Now: Planned residential conversion Dwight City Group, with support from Dranoff Properties, will convert the nine-story Anderson Hall into 84 apartments. The project will connect to Dranoff Properties’ parking lot at 337 S. Broad Street. Combining the two structures, the proposed ground-floor retail can stretch from the middle of the 300 block to Pine Street. On the corner of Pine Street, the doors are set to open soon at Stoop Pigeon, a women-owned and womenfocused sports bar, cafe, kitchen, and coworking space.
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Center City Insights
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UArts Campus Transformation
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Center City Insights
Arts Bank
601 S. Broad Street Now: To be determined Quadro Bay LLC acquired the Arts Bank with the intent of creating residential units above ground-floor retail, but development plans remain unconfirmed. The building currently holds a 230-seat theater, ground-floor commercial space, and a dance studio. In the interim, the building is being marketed for lease to a mix of arts groups and food and beverage operators. In this scenario, a vertical expansion would be scrapped and the building would see new life as a commercial and performing arts hub.
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UArts Campus Transformation
Gershman Hall
401 S. Broad Street
Now: Plans undisclosed Gershman Hall was the last building to sell in the portfolio. Lubert-Adler Real Estate Funds acquired the former Gershman Y arts and cultural center with undisclosed plans to transform the 75,320-square-foot space.
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Center City Insights
Spruce Hall
1124-1234 Spruce Street Now: Spruce Tower Apartments The former residence hall in Washington Square West has returned to the rental market as Spruce Tower Apartments, an eight-story building of mostly studios and one bedrooms.
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UArts Campus Transformation
Juniper Hall
311 S. Juniper Street
Now: The Juniper Frankel Enterprises and Modillion Partners redeveloped the former Juniper Hall dormitory into boutique apartments with a pickleball court in an indoor fitness space.
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Center City Insights
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