Curtis outbids Temple for UArts’ building after developer Allan Domb drops out

The Curtis Institute of Music on Tuesday outbid Temple University for the Art Alliance building, owned by the shuttered University of the Arts, a spokesperson for Curtis confirmed.

The institute bid $7.6 million for the building, which is close to the school on the east side of Rittenhouse Square, at a live auction held by UArts bankruptcy trustee Alfred T. Giuliano on Tuesday afternoon. Bids were made in $100,000 increments, according to a source close to the process who asked not to be identified.

Real estate mogul Allan Domb, who initially bid $6.5 million on the building, later dropped out and did not participate.

» READ MORE: Real estate mogul Allan Domb wants to buy UArts’ building for $6.5 million

The sale of the building at 251 S. 18th St., which includes a small performance hall, exhibition galleries, and some outdoor space, will be subject to approval at a bankruptcy court hearing scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Wilmington.

“We are excited this worked out and can’t wait to fill it with music,” said Patricia Johnson, a spokesperson for the elite music school.

Exactly what Curtis will do with the building remains to be worked out, as does the cost of any needed renovations, she said. But with the acquisition, the school might shuffle around space in its current buildings on Locust Street and move some of those functions into the Art Alliance.

”Certainly space is always something we need on a thriving campus like Curtis, and with the proximity, it seemed like a really good fit for the school,” she said.

Curtis’ purchase is being made possible by gifts from trustees and other supporters, many of whom pledged their support in recent hours and days. The school, considered one of the top music conservatories in the world, is celebrating its centenary this season.

» READ MORE: Bids are sought on nine UArts properties

Johnson said that it was not yet clear whether the entire purchase price would be covered by the gifts, but that in any case, no debt would be incurred to make it happen.

”Donations are still coming in from our supporters. There is no loan involved in the purchase,” she said.

Temple said in a statement: “The Art Alliance is an important building with a rich cultural history. We are delighted for the Curtis Institute of Music and confident that they will use the building to continue to foster the arts and serve future generations of students and Philadelphians.”

The university had said Monday that it had hoped “to present the talent and expertise” of its Tyler School of Art and Architecture and its Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts in the building.

» READ MORE: Temple has made an $18 million bid on UArts’ largest building, one of nine for sale

Temple is still in the running for Terra Hall, the biggest of the UArts buildings for sale; the university bid $18 million for that property, which it would like to convert into its Center City campus.

Domb, a former Philadelphia City Council member and mayoral candidate who is one of the biggest property owners in Center City, said he did not bid again because “there are other bidders who I believe will do a great job with the building, and my goal was to make the building beautiful, and I’m hopeful they will.”

He said he was pleased to see Curtis get the property.

“I think it’s great for the city. … They are a great institution,” Domb said.

» READ MORE: Pa. attorney general objects to Allan Domb’s bid on a UArts building, saying it must be used for education purposes

On Monday, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office had filed an objection to Domb’s bid, citing a restrictive covenant when the alliance and UArts merged that said the building had to be used for education and exhibition purposes. The attorney general at that time advocated in court documents that Temple get the building.

Also at the auction, Quadro Bay LLC outbid the Lantern Theater Company for UArts’ Arts Bank building. None of the other buildings was discussed at the hearing, multiple sources said.

Lantern had bid $1.76 million for the Arts Bank building, at 601 S. Broad St. Quadro Bay came in at $2.71 million.

Damien Tancredi, a lawyer representing Quadro Bay, said, “Quadro Bay is excited to have purchased the property and looks forward to the next steps,” declining to comment further.

There are six other UArts properties for sale, but as of Tuesday, no other bids were registered for them in the public docket.

Staff writer Harold Brubaker contributed to this article.