New York City Lends Frank Gehry a $25 million Helping Hand

Architect Frank Gehry has plenty of reasons to be singing praise for the City of New York this week as it is announced that one of his New York assignments just received $25 million from the city to help in meeting the $60 million goal to complete one very special development.

The new performing-arts complex is one of Gehry’s many projects, and now it seems the dream he has for the development is one huge $25 million step closer to reality. The Signature Theater Company has announced the generous contribution by the city of New York City which will substantially aid in the completion of the new set of theaters, Signature Center, which will be part of an expansive 59-story, residential building and hotel which is currently undergoing development in midtown Manhattan.

The new space will include three theaters, rehearsal studios, a café, bookstore, and administrative offices. A spokesman for Gehry has said that his designs aren’t complete yet, but they are in the final stages of development, and added, “Gehry’s design illustrations for the project will likely be made public sometime in the spring.”

In addition to the $25 million contribution that Signature Center has just received from the city, the theater company notes that it has raised $16 million for the project, which just leaves $19 million to be raised to reach the $60 million goal.

The theater portions of the new space are expected to allow Signature to accommodate more than double its current audience. Signature is the production company that has produced the  work of notable playwrights such as Horton Foote and Tony Kushner.

Gehry will only be in charge of designing the portion of the building where Signature will reside; the rest of the building is being designed by Arquitectonica, a Miami-based firm, and Ismael Leyva.

The Signature Center is expected to be completed in 2012.

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