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By Kevin Shihoten
03 Jul 2007
The Pennsylvania Ballet has purchased land for its new headquarters, The Philadephia Inquirer reported last week.
The $5.5 million transaction closed on June 1, officials told the newspaper. The plot is situated on Broad Street not far from the Convention Center, about a mile and half north of the rented studios and offices the company currently occupies.
"It's just a nice part of town and a lot is happening there," the Inquirer reported Michael G. Scolamiero, the troupe's executive director, saying. The new building will also offer the ballet more visibility. "It's a lot of land we could not find anywhere else," he said.
Three of the new site's existing four buildings will be demolished; the ballet will occupy 40% of the land in a single 40,000-square-foot structure housing its administration, wardrobe facilities and rehearsal studios.
Acqusition and demolition, which constitute the project's first phase, is estimated to cost $14 million to $15 million. Part of the purchase price was borrowed, though Scolamiero would not reveal the figure. The ballet has asked for state funding, and a $1 million grant from the city of Philadelphia was announced on June 28.
The new facility will be designed by Erdy McHenry Architecture and completed in two to three years.
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