August 12, 2026
Michaela Althouse/PhillyVoice
Furness Hall, a former dorm room at the University of the Arts, is being transformed into a housing complex for artists. The building will include 45 units, with workspaces and storefronts on the ground floor.
A former University of the Arts building is being transformed into an affordable housing complex for artists in Center City, project officials said Wednesday.
Furness Hall, a former dorm room for students at 15th and Pine streets, will include 45 artist residences. It's part of the future Village of Industry and Art complex — a creative campus for artists being established in a pair of UArts buildings.
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The ground floor of Furness Hall will include artists studios, workshops and storefronts, with 45 apartments on the upper floors. A spokesperson for the project said it is expected to be completed by the middle of next year.
Thirty-five units will serve as long-term rentals for artists that make 60% to 80% of the Area Median Income. In Philadelphia in 2025, that threshold was $51,563 to $68,750 for a one-person household and $73,613 to $98,150 for a family of four. The other 10 units will serve as short-term housing for visiting artists and artists in residencies.
The developer, Scout, also plans to establish artist-led programming and partnerships with local schools and cultural institutions, and the artists who reside in the building will have access to paid opportunities in teaching, commissions and public presentations. Scout plans to host open studios, workshops, exhibits and free or low-cost events for the public, too.
Scout is best-known for converting a former South Philly school into the Bok Building, which includes artist workshops and a rooftop bar. In February 2025, Scout bought Furness Hall and nearby Hamilton Hall, at 320 S. Broad St., for $12.25 million. At the time, the firm said it planned to turn the spaces into studios and subsidized housing, but it didn't release details.
Now, Scout said both buildings will be part of the Village of Industry and Art, a creative campus for "artists, makers and mission-driven organizations of culture, craft and civic life." The campus will include more than 110,000 square feet over 1.9 acres, and Scout said the renovation will include minimal interventions and a community-first design.
Scout said BlackStar Projects, Monument Lab, DesignPhiladelphia and the Stained Glass Project have signed on as tenants, as well as more than 45 local artists, makers and small-scale retail shops.
"This isn't a temporary use, this is a permanent investment in desperately needed civic infrastructure for the cultural and artistic workers of Philadelphia," Lindsey Scannapieco, managing partner at Scout, said in a statement. "Continuing on the legacy of many artists in this space before us, we hope to continue to support this as a fertile ground for community, collaboration, and sharing that happens when artists share space. "The residences and programming will be funded by a $2.5 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The University of the Arts abruptly closed in the summer of 2024 due to financial issues from declining enrollment, falling revenue and heightened expenses.
Furness Hall was named after Frank Furness, the famous Philadelphia architect who designed the building. His projects included the University of Pennsylvania's Fisher Fine Arts Library, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and many railroad stations.
