University of the Arts properties up for sale months after abrupt closure

Properties owned by the University of the Arts are now up for sale.

Real estate company JLL announced in a news release that it has been retained to arrange the sale of the university's portfolio, a nine-property, 760,000-square-foot campus located in Center City.

This comes after the university abruptly shut down in June and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in September, following a wave of class action lawsuits from students and faculty impacted by the closure.

Of the nine buildings, JLL said five are designated “historic,” offering tax credit opportunities to a future investor. All properties have "flexible zoning and allow for a variety of uses, including multi-housing, office, retail, hospitality, data center, healthcare or entertainment establishments."

"Almost all of the properties offer mixed-use zoning, allowing for a variety of future uses. Many will likely become apartments, but the campus offers an array of opportunities," JLL Senior Managing Director Fran Coyne said in the news release.

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Properties included in the sale are:

Arts Bank, Anderson Hall, Hamilton Hall, Furness Hall, Juniper Hall, Gershman Hall, Terra Hall, Arts Alliance and Spruce Hall. In their current state, the buildings offer office, performance, and theatre venues, libraries, galleries, residence halls, apartments, cafes, and classrooms.

“The real estate represented in The University of the Arts portfolio allows an investor a generational opportunity to reshape the heart of Philadelphia’s CBD,” Senior Managing Director Jim Galbally added.