More bids come in for three UArts buildings, including the iconic Hamilton Hall on South Broad Street
Hamilton Hall on South Broad Street and Anderson Hall, the second-largest building of nine up for sale, have drawn leading bids, as has Furness.
Bids totaling more than $20 million have come in for three more University of the Arts buildings, according to the public docket in U.S. bankruptcy court, including the iconic Hamilton Hall.
The prospective buyers are limited liability companies named after the addresses of the buildings, but they are connected to Dwight City Group LLC, a commercial real estate investment and asset management company based in New York.
While the company did not immediately respond to requests for comment, it is a market-rate housing developer. Its website describes Dwight City Group as focused “on the growing need for affordable luxury apartments in revitalizing neighborhoods.”
Anderson Hall, the second-largest of the nine buildings for sale, drew a bid of $8.5 million from 333 South Broad LLC, which court documents show is connected to Dwight City Group.
» READ MORE: Judge approves sale of UArts’ Terra Hall to Temple University for $18 million
Another bidder, named 300 S. Broad St. LLC, has offered $12 million for Hamilton and Furness Halls. Hamilton is the grand building with large columns that was central to UArts' branding. That LLC is also connected to Dwight City Group, court records show.
There are other bidders as well.
Lindsey Scannapieco has confirmed that her company, Scout, which made its name with the redevelopment of South Philadelphia’s Bok Building, also bid $12 million on Hamilton and Furness Halls. Her company would propose a reuse for the former UArts buildings similar to Bok, outfitting them with studios for artists, small businesses, and other craftspeople. The dorms would be converted to affordable artist housing, with a residency program.
Anderson and Hamilton were academic buildings, while Furness was a student dorm. Hamilton and Furness were given to UArts for $1 in 1994, city records show.
With the latest court filings, seven of nine UArts buildings have received bids. The attorney representing the UArts bankruptcy trustee has said in court that there is secured debt of approximately $67 million.
If all the leading bids so far submitted were accepted, in addition to the buildings already sold, the revenue would total more than $55 million.
Two have been sold: the Curtis Institute of Music bought the Art Alliance building last month for $7.6 million, while Temple University purchased Terra Hall, the largest of the buildings, for $18 million. The Terra Hall purchase was approved by a U.S. bankruptcy court judge this week.
A bid also was registered last week for Spruce Hall, formerly a UArts residence hall. A company called 1228 Spruce LLC has bid $7 million. Jeffrey C. Hampton, a lawyer for Saul Ewing who represents the company, declined to comment last week on questions about 1228 Spruce LLC or its intended use for the building.
Meanwhile, a ruling is expected Thursday in bankruptcy court on the fate of the Arts Bank building. Quadro Bay LLC, which wants to use the building for residential and possibly commercial purposes, was the highest bidder at $2.71 million.
But the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, responsible for protecting charitable interests in bankruptcy sales, objected to the sale, arguing that Pennsylvania law requires that donor intent and the charitable purposes of the property be considered. The Lantern Theater Company, which bid $2.61 million, just $100,000 less, should be favored, given its intended use of the performance space more closely matches that of UArts, the attorney general argued.
Both Quadro Bay and the UArts bankruptcy trustee have argued in court filings that the sale to Quadro Bay should be permitted to secure fair market value for the building and help make creditors whole. The trustee also contended the building is not subject to any donor restriction.
The outcome of the hearing could have a bearing on the fate of several other buildings that have drawn bids, including Hamilton and Anderson, depending upon the prospective buyers' plans for the buildings.
Local arts leaders and some politicians have said they were hoping that UArts’ buildings would maintain their cultural use in the hands of new owners.
“I hope to see the former UArts buildings on the Avenue of the Arts corridor retain what has been their intended use for decades and remain a place where creatives feel at home,” said City Councilmember Rue Landau. “When thinking about the future use of those spaces, it would be a win for the city’s creative community for the plan to include low-cost studio space and affordable housing that would help artists thrive.”
Bids have not yet appeared on the public docket for two of the UArts buildings put up for sale: Juniper Hall, a student dorm, and Gershman Hall, a theater and educational building.
UArts abruptly closed last June, leaving students and staff scrambling, and the school filed for bankruptcy in September.
“We feel the absence of the students,” Patricia Wilson Aden, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, told The Inquirer last month, reflecting on the closure of UArts. “We feel the absence of the audiences that came to UArts activities. So if we want to not only recapture that but rebound from that, I think it is in the city’s interest to see that we continue to use those spaces for arts and culture.”
Staff writer Harold Brubaker contributed to this article.