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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