After a two-year search, historic Arts Bank has a new tenant

Music Theatre Philly, the nonprofit arts organization that produces programs and shows for children and adults, will be headquartered in the building formerly owned by the University of the Arts.

“It’s a dream come true,” said MTP co-founder Mindy Baiada, who launched the organization in 2015 with veteran production director and choreographer Dann Dunn.

The organization signed a 10-year lease with 601 S. Broad LLC, which acquired the Arts Bank for $2.7 million in 2024 under the entity Quadro Bay LLC, following the abrupt closure of UArts.

The 15,000-square-foot building, designed by Philadelphia architect Ralph B. Bencker and constructed in 1929, served as the headquarters for Southwestern National Bank before the bank closed in 1933.

UArts purchased and renovated the building in 1994. It served as a space for music, theater, and dance classes, as well as performances, until the university closed.

The group behind 601 S. Broad LLC purchased the building in the UArts bankruptcy auction.

MPN Realty broker Dennis Carlisle, who helped negotiate the lease, said the owners had been searching for a suitable tenant since acquiring the property.

The group received offers from prospective tenants who proposed transforming the space into a church, sports bar, or concert venue. But Carlisle said the partnership with MTP is a “slam dunk.”

MTP will occupy the entire three-story building, which includes dressing rooms in the basement, a lobby and Laurie Beechman Cabaret Theater on the first floor, a 240-seat theater on the second floor and dance studios on the third floor.

Baiada said the MTP’s current location at 1301 Locust St. will focus on classes and educational programming. The Arts Bank will be used primarily to present the organization’s productions, as well as house its various summer camps.

Over the next few weeks, MTP executive director Tim Popp said the organization will focus on raising funds to upgrade the building’s technology and put its “special MTP touch on the building.”

Popp said the group plans to purchase new lighting and sound equipment and complete several smaller projects ahead of a ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 8.

“To be reopened as the theater it was, it’s not going to take a ton of repair,” Popp said. “That’s one of the things that excited us.”

The planned improvements include work on several windows, removing graffiti from the building’s walls, and replacing the carpet in the cabaret theater.

Popp said the goal is to make use of the entire building for larger productions, public lectures, and rehearsals for outside dance studios and theater companies.

He also hopes to draw on Baiada’s connections as a Broadway producer to transform the Arts Bank into an incubator for future Broadway stars and productions. “We certainly have our vision for what we want to do with [Arts Bank],” Popp said.

But Popp and Baiada are especially excited to reach new audiences and reconnect students with a venue many already know.

“For many students, it was their first venue where they got to be in our shows. So for them to go back, not only as a place we’re visiting or renting for a limited time, is so special,” Popp said.

It’s a “full circle moment,” Baiada said.

When news of UArts’ closure broke, Baiada and Popp were standing in the wings of the Arts Bank theater, preparing to give the curtain speech for its production of Chicago. “Our heads were spinning,” she said.

For nearly two and a half years, MTP had used Arts Bank for its large-scale productions. Once the venue closed, Baiada said the organization considered a potential bid.

But after acquiring Nest Philly in 2023, an 8,000-square-foot space that was rebranded as MTP Playhouse, Baiada said there wasn’t enough time to fundraise for another sizable purchase.

Then, in July, Baiada drove past the Arts Bank and noticed a “for rent” sign in the window.

From that moment, she said, “It was game on.”

“I told the realtor, I don’t even need to see it. I know that building by heart,” Baiada said.

The organization signed the lease earlier this month, and already has production plans in motion.

Following the December ribbon-cutting, which will include tours of the facility and a peek inside a live dance class, MTP will present Annie KIDS in January. MTP Players, the organization’s adult performance group, will also present The Wedding Singer in early 2027.

Popp said MTP will then launch a new 10-week summer camp program for fourth through eighth graders, as well as a ninth through 12th grade program where students will get the opportunity to put on a full production over two weeks.

“We’re excited to level up the camp experience, where we can perform on a full stage with a little bit more technical magic behind it,” he said.

As MTP settles into its new home, Baiada said she hopes to continue UArts’ legacy and inspire more children to explore the performing arts.