One Pace Plaza East, a major renovation project at Pace University, is on track for completion by Fall 2026. The updated facility will feature a new Performing Arts Center and expanded academic spaces for the Sands College of Performing Arts, Dyson College, and other university-wide programs. Residential areas in Maria’s Tower are also being refreshed.
The construction has reached several key stages. Work on the foundation and excavation for the redesigned Schimmel Theater is finished, with new structural systems now supporting an expanded stage, fly tower, and audience chamber. Double-height spaces for the Garden Theater, Blackbox Theater, and a large dance rehearsal studio are also taking shape.
The design aims to serve both as a performance venue and an educational environment. Features include flexible rehearsal areas, podcast studios, maker spaces, expanded catwalks, and specialized facilities to support creative collaboration across disciplines. Sustainability is integral to the project; One Pace Plaza East will operate with all-electric infrastructure as part of the university’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
According to information provided by Pace University: “The transformational renovation is well underway, bringing new life to one of Pace University’s most iconic buildings. When it opens, One Pace Plaza East will be home to a state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center, dynamic academic and creative spaces for the Sands College of Performing Arts, Dyson College, and University-wide programs, along with refreshed residential spaces in Maria’s Tower.”
Construction will continue through 2026. The building is expected to become a center for learning and creativity in downtown Manhattan.
Additional features include ten new dressing rooms serving all performance venues; eighty dressing room seats across three theaters; six theater boxes with twenty-four seats in the new Schimmel Theater; fifty linesets in the Schimmel fly tower for production needs; nine steel strong points in the Large Dance Studio ceiling for aerial dance activities; high-performance sprung floors made from fiberglass in dance studios; four podcasting studios; more than five thousand light fixtures throughout theaters and classrooms; five hundred sixty doors in Maria’s Tower; and a new home for the Pace Zine Library.
For more details about One Pace Plaza East or its scheduled opening in Fall 2026 visit their dedicated page.
