Temple University's campus is set to expand.
In spring 2025, the university plans to build a new facility in North Philadelphia to modernize the teaching spaces for Klein College; the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts (TFMA); and the Boyer College of Music and Dance.
The 199,000-square-foot facility will be situated on the west side of North Broad Street, directly across from the entrance to Polett Walk.
According to the university, the building will allow the university's programs to grow and better prepare students for the future. It will also serve as a community hub for activity, education, and entertainment.
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Inside, the new facility will feature a new cluster of theaters, including a 375-seat proscenium venue, a 180-seat cinema, a flexible 140-seat black box theater, and a 63-seat screening room. These spaces will replace and expand the current facilities in the Tomlinson/Annenberg complex.
"Many current Klein and TFMA programs are presently limited because they reside in the 55-year-old Annenberg Hall/Tomlinson Theater building complex. The new facilities will provide critical resources to allow these programs to grow, so they can better prepare students for careers in tomorrow’s job market and to find new opportunities for collaboration, both within their own programs and with each other," the university said in a news release.
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The new building will also feature a modern, integrated student media center, which will house The Temple News, Temple TV, WHIP, and student advertising and public relations agencies.
The university adds that the building will also include state-of-the-art audio/editing suites, a podcast studio, wellness rooms, and a virtual reality/innovation lab.
In addition to updated theater and lobby spaces, the university said the new building will provide TFMA students with expanded costume and scene shops and rehearsal spaces with natural lighting; an industry-standard soundstage with adjacent directing lab and new media studio; an animation lab; and updated post-production facilities that include editing suites, a sound mix suite, Foley and ADR (automated dialogue replacement) studio, immersive audio and VR suite, color correction studio, and a DI (digital intermediate) theater/classroom.
“This is a pathbreaking project for both Temple and North Philadelphia,” said Temple University President John Fry. “This new, state-of-the-art facility will provide resources and opportunities that will prepare a more agile and adaptable workforce of future journalists, communicators and performing artists. It is also an opportunity for us to further our engagement with our North Philadelphia neighbors.”
The university said that following the spring groundbreaking, the construction phase will start and is expected to take at least 30 months.
Temple plans to open the new facility at the start of the fall 2027 semester.
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