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City to invest in theater construction at Related’s 440 West 42nd Street
The city has partnered with the Signature Theatre Company and Related Companies to build a Frank Gehry-designed theater at Related’s new residential building and hotel at 440 West 42nd Street at 10th Avenue, according to a press release sent out prior to this morning’s announcement by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The city will contribute $25 million toward construction of the $60 million theater, Bloomberg said. The arts facility will serve as a new home for the Signature Theatre Company, allowing it to more than double the number of audience members that it can accommodate at its current location at 555 West 42nd Street near 11th Avenue. The new $800 million, 59-story residential complex in which the theater will reside will have 800 housing units, including 160 low-income residences, and will create 700 construction jobs. Construction of the LEED silver-certified residential complex is expected to be complete in 2011, with construction of the theater finished in 2012. Bloomberg emphasized the significance of pushing forward with the project, even during trying financial times, during the press conference. “There was a period when the future of the project was in question — as were its 700 construction jobs and hundreds of units of much-needed housing,” Bloomberg said. “Today it’s serving as a prime example that — despite the national economic downturn — large-scale projects are still happening.” TRD