It’s the Perelman Performing Arts Center, but Bloomberg gave more

It seemed it would never happen.

Year after year, plans to build a cultural institution on the grounds of the World Trade Center seeped through, only to go up in smoke. The International Freedom Center, the Joyce Theater, the Drawing Center, the Signature Theater, New York City Opera, a Frank Gehry design—all were discussed as possibilities, but none went anywhere.

Now, two decades after the 2003 master plan for Ground Zero called for a cultural component, a performing arts center is finally preparing to open there in September. And while it bears the name of Ronald O. Perelman, the billionaire businessman who jump-started the dying project in 2016 by announcing a $75 million donation, the person who finally got the project over the finish line and eventually gave more money than Mr. Perelman is Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire’s former mayor.

Mr. Bloomberg gave $130 million to the arts center, a gift not previously revealed, and acted as chairman of the board in 2020 (replacing Barbra Streisand, who was named chairman in 2016) when the organization a strong fundraiser. The center, which will ultimately cost $500 million — more than double what was projected in 2016 — is now on track to cut the ribbon on Sept. 13.

“I can afford it,” Mr. Bloomberg said of his generosity during a recent helmeted tour of the center. “And they need the money.”

The center is still called the Perelman Performing Arts Center, but the Perelman name is given less emphasis these days. While the center’s promotional materials once referred to it as simply “the Perelman,” they now refer to it as “PAC NYC,” with PAC standing for Performing Arts Center. The website, ever theperelman.orgis now pacnyc.orgsaid a change officials made to tighten the URL.

Mr. Perelman, the cosmetics mogul, has been having financial troubles lately, leading some to question whether he has kept his promises. But Mr. Bloomberg said that Mr. Perelman came by. “He prepaid — never had to ask him for a check,” Bloomberg said. “They were always there ahead of schedule.”

Mr Perelman said in a statement that the arts center will “bring the renewal and community that the arts have always represented”.

“Mike and many others had the vision, and through a true shared commitment it is now being realized,” continued Perelman. “I’m thrilled to have been able to play a part in making this happen.”

The new center opens at a time when many arts organizations are struggling to bounce back in the wake of the pandemic, and as New York art institutions compete for philanthropic support, talent and audiences. The Shed, another expensive, architecturally striking art space, opened in Hudson Yards a year before the pandemic hit and has had some trouble gaining a foothold.

Mr. Bloomberg has been deeply involved with both the Shed and the Perelman—as mayor and philanthropist—and has given equally to both: His donations to the Shed have also now reached $130 million.

As mayor initially Mr. Bloomberg ceded the World Trade Center site to Governor George E. Pataki and focused instead on the Far West Side, where his early attempts to build a football stadium and lure the Olympics failed, but led to the creation of the Hudson Yards development and the Shed. In time, however, Mr. Bloomberg turned his attention back to Lower Manhattan, where he became president of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in 2006 and then took on a role at the performing arts center.

Mr. Bloomberg said he was very much in favor of the idea that the World Trade Center site should be about renewal as well as loss. “There is so much tragedy,” he said. “The families have to move on and the deceased, I think, would have wanted their relatives to have a life.”

While he readily admits he’s not a culture vulture himself, Bloomberg sees the arts as a major driver of economic development, guiding his approach to cultural capital projects as mayor. “Culture attracts much more capital than capital attracts culture,” he said. “That’s why New York and London are the two cities that will survive almost anything – because they have commerce and culture.”

Certainly, both of Mr. Bloomberg’s projects face challenges. Commercial real estate is suffering in lower Manhattan and at Hudson Yards. And it’s hard to build a constituency for a new cultural center by starting with a building rather than a program, as the Shed has discovered. But Bloomberg said he’s not worried.

“It’s a different business model,” he said, comparing it to the Serpentine Galleries in London, a museum without a permanent collection where he is chairman.

The Perelman Center’s artistic plans — it promises to showcase theater, dance, music, chamber opera, and film — should come into focus on June 14, when it announces its first season. Recent audition announcements suggest plans include the New York premiere of the opera “An American Soldier” by Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang, and setting up a production from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Cats” set in the contemporary ballroom scenewith roles that “may be flexible with gender.”

The building, a 138-meter-tall cube, is encased in marble that glows at night, and has a flexible interior with three theater spaces that can be combined to provide multiple configurations. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation has committed $100 million to the project.

The center has already had some bumpy leadership changes. David Lan, who ran the Young Vic theater in London, was initially the temporary artistic director. In 2018, Bill Rauch was appointed artistic director. In 2019, Leslie Koch replaced Maggie Boepple as president of the center (Ms. Koch transitioned to president of construction in March 2022 and will step down when the building is complete). And last October was Khady Kamara, the former executive director of Second Stage Theater called executive director.

During his recent tour, Mr. Bloomberg was very animated when he spoke about the flexibility of the new building design – by REX architects – and how the walls and floors can move to accommodate different events.

“I’m a big Broadway fan – I love musicals and comedies,” he said. As for his taste in fine art, Mr. Bloomberg said he had no discerning eye. “I’m not as knowledgeable about culture as I should be,” he said. “I was an engineer in college. Have I taken many art courses? No. I know what I like. I’m not sure I can explain why.”

And talked about its commercial value. “It meets the need down here for different sized sites,” he said. “Many companies will want to rent this space. It’s a great place to have a breakfast meeting with your clients. Weddings, bar mitzvahs, confirmations, graduations.”

Mr. Bloomberg sounded optimistic about New York as a city that always bounces back, saying downtown is “what downtown needs”.

“In the inner city there is not as much culture as in other parts of the city,” he said. “This is going to pull the whole thing together. The economy is going to work. A lot of people will want to use this location.”