The Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center

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Designed by: REX, Davis Brody Bond Size: 90,000 sq. ft., including three theaters

Completion: 2023

THE RONALD O. PERELMAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

While it is on the WTC campus, we are including The Perelman Performing Arts Center in our list as it will bring an entirely new use on the site and one that will have a profound impact on the cultural life of the neighborhood and the entire city. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) first announced plans for the multidisciplinary performing arts center in 2004 as part of the World Trade Center rebuilding effort; those initial plans had stalled, but saw a rebirth in 2015 when architects REX and Davis Brody Bond were selected to draw up new designs.

Now, the Performing Arts Center is nearing completion, with an expected opening in 2023. The 90,000-square-foot building will include three theaters, in addition to rehearsal and dressing rooms and a restaurant/bar for show patrons. The theaters have been designed with unique rotating, expandable walls to help customize performances and create a single large theater for bigger audiences, making it a true future home for a wide array of live performances.

One of the reasons we live in cities is because of culture and the ability to gather in public spaces. So the challenge for the performing arts center is the challenge we all face together, which is how we come back as Lower Manhattan and as a city. New York really embodies the role of culture, not only in economic development but in what makes New York New York, as a place to live, as a place to work and as a place to visit. We’re universally recognized around the world as one of — if not the — leading cultural capitals, and we have all learned as individuals what we’ve missed in not being able to fully participate, certainly in the performing arts, if not culture more broadly, during the pandemic.

— Leslie Koch, President Of The Perelman Center