Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center Receives $75 Million Gift

It was announced today that industrialist and philanthropist Ronald O. Perelman will make a $75 million gift to fund the construction, endowment and operations to opening of the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center (PAC). Upon completion, the building will be named the Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center.

Scheduled to open in early 2020, the PAC will be a major new addition to New York's cultural landscape and a world-class performance space in Lower Manhattan. The PAC will produce and premiere works of theater, dance, music, musical theater, opera, and film, as well as productions that cross multiple disciplines.

"My hope and expectation is that the PAC will be more than a performance venue," said Ronald Perelman. "It will represent the vitality and energy that has emerged in response to the tragedy of 9/11, and it will be a constant reminder of resilience and healing through artistic expression and community."

"From the outset of the planning process, I and countless other New Yorkers believed that arts and culture needed to be included as a vital component of a rejuvenated Downtown. That is why the Performing Arts Center was such an important and applauded element of the 2003 Master Plan for a new World Trade Center," said Silverstein Properties Chairman Larry A. Silverstein, who is currently serving as the Interim Chairman of the World Trade Center PAC. "Thanks to the incredible generosity of Ronald Perelman, the 75,000 office workers and the thousands of families who call Lower Manhattan home, as well as millions of visitors, will be able to enjoy a magnificent venue located in the heart of the world's most dynamic urban neighborhood."

Designed by New York-based architecture firm REX, the PAC will have three separate theaters with flexible layouts, which can be conjoined to create different configurations within the play space. The flexible nature of the space and the incorporation of technology directly into the building's design are unique for New York City's performance spaces, and will provide artists with the opportunity to create cutting-edge work. The PAC will also have the capability to connect its work to other centers and audiences around the world, placing the institution at the nexus of many of the most exciting trends in the performing arts.

"All of us at the PAC are profoundly grateful to Ronald for his extraordinary support of this project," said Maggie Boepple, President/Director of the PAC. "We have seen firsthand his passion for the arts and his deep understanding of their impact on the lives of all New Yorkers. We share a vision of a PAC that is both a birthplace for the finest in the contemporary performing arts and a vital hub for all members of the Downtown community. We look forward to his partnership and guidance as the PAC takes shape in the years ahead."