Jones Lang LaSalle

City Opera nixes move to Red Cross building
by Miriam Kreinin Souccar

The New York City Opera announced today that it would not proceed with a project that would have relocated the opera company to a new theater at the base of a residential tower to be built at 150 Amsterdam Ave., the former site of the American Red Cross Building. The opera had been in talks with the site's developer, A & R Kalimian Realty, to build a 1,800-seat theater at the base of a new rental building. In a joint statement, both parties said an agreement could not be reached on a number of legal, financial and design issues.

City Opera has been searching for a way to have its own home for a long time. It currently shares the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center with the New York City Ballet, and has complained that the theater is not ideal for opera. The opera was a strong contender to build a home at Ground Zero, but lost out to The Joyce Theater, which presents dance, and the Signature Theater Company. A spokeswoman for City Opera says the company will keep looking.