The long overdue World Trade Center Performing Arts Center may be getting back on track. The Frank Gehry-designed complex is slated to have two theaters, rehearsal space, classrooms and a café. Last week, Mayor Bloomberg named five new board members for the center, which secured $155 million in funding just before the December 31st deadline. If board members had not been chosen, the funding would have been lost. The center will sit directly east of One WTC and incorporate green technologies, like the entire World Trade Center complex.

The performing arts center will add a cultural component to the new World Trade Center. The 1,000-seat theater will be the new residence of the Joyce Theater dance company, which currently is headquartered in Chelsea. The Tribeca Film Festival will also have a presence at the new theater once complete.

Although the realization of the theater is several years off, the secured funds and establishment of the board is a giant step forward. Because the World Trade Center site has experienced delays in development, the performing arts center has taken a back seat. The new board is responsible for raising the rest of the money to build the arts center, which is estimated to cost about $500 million.

The temporary PATH entrance currently sits on the appointed site of the theater, so construction cannot begin until the Santiago Calatrava designed transportation hub opens in a few years. The glass building blocks Gehry design may be a few years off, but it looks like it’s a go.

Via DNA Info

1 Comment

zeppflyer January 8, 2012 at 12:42 am

Frank Gehry should be tried for crimes against humanity. You cannot be a post-modern architect. At the end of the day, a structure must serve a function. Aside from being hideously ugly, his work is far harder than a normal building to make green or to build in a sustainable manner. Pity the New Yorkers who paid for this.