Artist renderings of: Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center
Artist renderings of: Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center

performing arts center at Ground Zero coming (with Barbra Streisand as Chairwoman of the Board)

There have been plans for a performing arts center as part of the new World Trade Center complex going back to its earliest designs. Plans had stalled, but now appear to be finally moving forward, with it given a name, the Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center, a new design unveiled and an announcement that Barbra Streisand had been elected Chairwoman of the Board. From the The New York Times:

The delicate balance needed to build a vibrant theater complex next to a somber memorial will be reflected in the unusual exterior of the cube-shaped 90,000-square-foot building. The Perelman Center is to be wrapped in thin sheets of translucent white marble encased in glass, giving it a solemn look in daylight but an amber glow from within at night…

…While earlier plans called for having a big cultural institution as an anchor tenant — groups discussed included the old New York City Opera, the Signature Theater Company and the Joyce Theater — current plans call for the center to work with other companies to produce and present work in its three theaters, which can individually seat 499, 250 and 99 people, but which can be combined into one theater that can seat 1,200

…three small theaters that can be combined in various configurations to produce and stage theater, dance, music, opera and experimental works, and can serve as a space for the Tribeca Film Festival each spring.

Check out a few design rendering of the Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center in the gallery above.