Game-Changing Collaboration Set to Transform Prominent Avenue of the Arts Corner

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A significant new development is set to reshape one of the Avenue of the Arts’ most high-profile corners. Dranoff Properties and Dwight City Group today announced a strategic collaboration to transform the northeast corner of Broad and Pine Streets into a vibrant mixed-use residential and retail destination.

Judah is going to deliver a great project, and we want to be part of it. By teaming up with Dwight City Group, we will create a better, corner-anchoring project that, as with all renovation projects, will deliver more quickly, keeping the momentum going...

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The partnership combines two adjacent properties: 337 S. Broad Street, a parking garage with ground-floor retail space owned by Dranoff Properties, and 333 S. Broad Street, the 9-story former University of the Arts’ Anderson Hall acquired by Dwight City Group during the University’s bankruptcy proceedings.

The new building’s frontage will run mid-block along South Broad and wrap around the corner of Pine Street, anchoring the entire northeast corner. Combining and rehabilitating the side-by-side properties creates a more impactful project than two separate developments.

Project Details

Dwight City Group will continue as developer, with Carl Dranoff, founder and CEO of Dranoff Properties, admitted as an investor. The yet-to-be-named project will include 84 one- and two-bedroom middle-market apartments, resident amenities on the mezzanine level, a rooftop deck, and a ground-floor food and beverage establishment.

The adjacent 337 S. Broad Street parking facility, owned by Dranoff Properties and conveyed to Dwight City Group, will be renovated and integrated into the apartment project. It will include three levels of parking reserved for residents of 333 S. Broad Street, as well as ground-floor retail. The existing height of the garage will remain unchanged. Project completion is anticipated within 14 to 16 months.

“This is a win-win for Broad and Pine and moves forward my vision for the Avenue of the Arts,” said Dranoff. "Judah is going to deliver a great project, and we want to be part of it. By teaming up with Dwight City Group, we will create a better, corner-anchoring project that, as with all renovation projects, will deliver more quickly, keeping the momentum going on the Avenue.”

Dranoff, in his role as an Avenue of the Arts, Inc., board member also is spearheading the organization's $100 million public realm improvement project, AveArtsVision 2.0, which will transform the street’s median and sidewalks into a treelined arts promenade, featuring café seating, public art, trees, flowering plants, and pop-up performance spaces. It is scheduled to break ground this fall.

Judah Angster, CEO of Dwight City Group, stated: “Carl Dranoff proved that people would live, work, and invest in the Avenue of the Arts. His bold vision and body of work laid the foundation we’re building on today.”

Broad and Pine Reimagined

This new project boosts the vitality at Broad and Pine as it evolves into a blockbuster intersection. Scout’s adaptive reuse of Dorrance Hamilton Hall into maker studios and artist housing energizes the northwest corner. The southeast corner is being revitalized by Lubert-Adler’s planned conversion of the historic Gershman Y building. On the southwest corner stands Symphony House, where Dranoff Properties kicked off the residential rebirth of the Avenue in 2005 with its 35-story tower, and now the company’s headquarters are on the ground level.

The Dranoff Effect on Urban Living

Dranoff has played a key role in transforming the Avenue of the Arts into one of Center City’s most vibrant neighborhoods. He invested over half a billion dollars executing developments—including Symphony House, 777 South Broad, SouthStar Lofts, and the iconic $275 million Arthaus, a turning point for the street. His success has attracted significant private investment and helped to increase the corridor’s value to $4.4 billion, sparking a flurry of investor interest in the University of the Arts’ portfolio during its bankruptcy proceedings.

Dranoff ranks among the nation's most influential urban placemakers—a visionary whose strategic investments have transformed Philadelphia's urban landscape over five pivotal decades.

Dranoff's innovative approach exceeds traditional development; he identifies emerging neighborhoods with untapped potential and sparks their revival through ambitious anchor projects that fundamentally reshape their future. This effective method has revitalized entire zip codes, including Old City, University City, Fitler Square, Callowhill, and most notably, the Avenue of the Arts.

About Dwight City Group

A strategic affiliate of Dwight Capital, Dwight City Group specializes in value-added multifamily investment and development near major metro areas. Since 2018, it has acquired over 2,350 residential units and 3 million square feet of real estate across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Recent projects in the Philadelphia area include an 85-unit development at 274 North Hanover Street in Pottstown, PA, and 78 units recently completed on Stenton Avenue in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood.

About Dranoff Properties

Founded in 1997 by Carl E. Dranoff, Dranoff Properties is a nationally recognized leader in urban revitalization. The firm specializes in high-impact, mixed-use developments that transform undervalued neighborhoods into vibrant live-work-play communities. In addition to its landmark Avenue of the Arts portfolio, Dranoff has led the renewal of Old City, West Philadelphia, Fitler Square, and Franklintown. Dranoff, as a board member of the Avenue of the Arts, Inc., is spearheading the AveArts 2.0 initiative, a $100 million public realm improvement effort for South Broad Street.