Temple University in Philadelphia is planning a new facility that will house the Klein College of Media and Communication and the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts.

The university says the 199,000-square-foot facility will expand and modernize teaching spaces for Klein College; the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts; and the Boyer College of Music and Dance. It also will serve as a community hub for activity, education and entertainment. 

Many programs are limited because they reside in the 55-year-old Annenberg Hall/Tomlinson Theater building complex. The new facilities will enable these programs to grow.

The new building will provide a new cluster of theaters, including a 375-seat proscenium venue, 180-seat cinema, flexible 140-seat black box theater and 63-seat screening room. These spaces will replace and expand the existing facilities in the Tomlinson/Annenberg complex. 

Another feature of the building will be a modern, integrated student media center, which will house The Temple News, Temple TV, WHIP, and student advertising and public relations agencies. The building will also include modern audio/editing suites, a podcast studio and wellness rooms, as well as a virtual reality/innovation lab. 

Also included in the facility will be updated theater and lobby spaces, 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. 

An official groundbreaking for the new facility iis scheduled for spring 2025. The construction phase is expected to take at least 30 months, and the building is expected to open at the start of the fall 2027 semester. 

The architect is Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.