Dive Brief:
- The University of the Arts has a $6.5 million bid from Philadelphia real estate investor Allan Domb for one of the institution’s most valuable properties, the Arts Alliance, according to court papers filed Wednesday.
- The trustee managing UArts’ assets in bankruptcy left open a window for competing bids and could hold an auction for the property.
- The trustee, Alfred Giuliano, also secured the sale of a performance hall owned by UArts known as the Arts Bank for just under $1.8 million to Lantern Theater Company, a Pennsylvania nonprofit. A hearing is set for Jan. 15 to approve the sale.
Dive Insight:
UArts’ sudden closure in June shocked the city and sparked protests, government probes and legal actions. In September, the university filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to manage its wind-down and the liquidation of its assets. That came after a possible deal with nearby Temple University fell through in August.
Most valuable among the shuttered private university’s assets is its real estate portfolio, which includes iconic buildings in the heart of the Philadelphia’s arts district.
The Art Alliance building wasn’t originally one of them, as the university acquired the building after a 2018 merger. It stands apart half a mile away from the shuttered university’s main campus in the tony Rittenhouse Square area. When it filed for bankruptcy, UArts listed the building’s value at $11.1 million.
In a Thursday court filing, Giuliano said that commercial real estate firm JLL has been “aggressively marketing” UArts’ properties since November. That includes sending out 27,000 emails to prospective buyers, signing more than 150 confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements with prospects, and giving more than 40 tours of UArts properties.
Interested buyers had until Dec. 17 to submit formal offers. Domb’s bid for the Art Alliance building was the “highest and best offer received,” Giuliano said, though the trustee reserved the right to seek competing bids, which would need to be filed two days ahead of a sale hearing.
Guiliano reserved the right to pursue higher bids in the case of the university’s Arts Bank building on Broad Street, with any competing bids due by Jan. 13.
UArts has several other buildings in its portfolio left to be sold, including the columned Dorrance Hall and other facilities on its main campus on South Broad Street. The university listed the value of all its property at $87.1 million when it filed for bankruptcy.
Giuliano said in a December filing that he hopes to finalize the sale of all UArts properties by May 31.
