Temple University unveils plans for new 199,000-square-foot media, performing arts building

Temple University has unveiled plans for a huge new home for its arts and media programs, and the project is set to kick off in the spring.

The new joint facility for Temple's Klein College of Media and Communication and the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts will be located on the west side of North Broad Street — across from the entrance to Polett Walk — and is expected to be open by the start of the fall 2027 semester.

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The 199,000-square-foot building will include teaching spaces for Klein College; the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts; and the Boyer College of Music and Dance. According to Temple, many of its arts and media programs are limited by the 55-year-old Annenberg Hall/Tomlinson Theater building complex they now reside in. The new facility will offer modernized resources including multiple theaters, a media center housing Temple student news and advertising organizations, a podcast studio, animation lab, costume shops, rehearsal spaces and a virtual reality lab. 

Temple officials predict the new building will become a community hub by providing opportunities for gathering, learning and entertainment for residents of the surrounding North Philadelphia community. For example, kids from surrounding neighborhoods will have opportunities to learn to use the facility's technology and equipment to record music or podcasts. 

"This is a pathbreaking project for both Temple and North Philadelphia," Temple president John Fry said in a release. "This new, state-of-the-art facility will provide resources and opportunities that will prepare a more agile and adaptable workforce of future journalists, communicators and performing artists. It is also an opportunity for us to further our engagement with our North Philadelphia neighbors." 

The project recently completed both the legislative and land use approval process, Fry said. Temple leaders also met with community organizations, and said they were met with support for the project. Temple had previously proposed using the site to build a 35,000-seat football stadium, a project the university tabled after facing opposition from the surrounding community in North Philadelphia. Temple officials told the Philadelphia Business Journal that the football team will continue to play at Lincoln Financial Field through 2029.