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

Temple University has bid $18 million on Terra Hall, the largest building owned by the former University of the Arts, and hopes it will house the school’s Center City campus.

The school in a message to the campus community Friday afternoon announced its intention to purchase UArts’ former main academic building at Broad and Walnut Streets, just a few blocks from City Hall. Documents disclosing Temple’s bid price were posted publicly in the bankruptcy court docket Friday afternoon.

“Temple’s initial bid for Terra Hall has been accepted and is pending court approval,” university president John A. Fry said in the message. “The potential acquisition … is an exciting prospect as it allows us to establish a prominent Temple presence in an iconic Philadelphia building.

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

“And, as we begin our work of spurring an innovation corridor that stretches both north and south of our Main Campus on Broad Street, the acquisition … continues Temple’s long-standing tradition of investing in a Center City campus and provides us with a strong and permanent presence in the heart of downtown Philadelphia.”

Terra Hall would become Temple’s Center City campus, which currently occupies rented space at 1515 Market St. The lease for that property expires June 2027, Fry said.

Temple becomes the third entity to bid on former UArts’ buildings.

Real estate mogul Allan Domb on Thursday bid $6.5 million for the Art Alliance building at 251 S. 18th St., and the Lantern Theater Company, a professional, not-for-profit theater company that has been operating in Philadelphia since 1994, bid $1.76 million for the Arts Bank building at 601 S. Broad St.

The bids are subject to court approval. Others could bid on the properties, though they would have to meet requirements such as offering a certain amount over the initial bid. If that happens, the sale would go to auction.

In the case of Terra, the deadline to submit competing bids is Jan. 27, according to court documents.

» READ MORE: Bids are sought on nine UArts properties

The 274,000-square-foot Terra Hall is one of nine buildings for sale following the abrupt closure of the arts college last June with only one week’s notice to students, faculty, and staff. The school filed for bankruptcy in September, launching the process to sell its Center City buildings and use the proceeds to pay off bond debt of around $46 million and other liabilities.

Terra Hall is more than twice the size of the next-largest building in the portfolio, Anderson Hall, at 120,000 square feet.

» READ MORE: UArts has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to liquidate its assets

In November, Fry said Temple had carefully evaluated the buildings to determine the amount of deferred maintenance and investment needed. That evaluation actually began when Temple was discussing a possible acquisition of UArts. But those talks fell apart after the Hamilton Family Charitable Trust, which has contributed about half of UArts’ $63 million endowment, said it did not favor having the endowment go to Temple as part of the deal.

More bids for other buildings are expected to be filed in the coming days.

Staff writer Harold Brubaker contributed to this article.