With Help From Ballard Spahr, Village of Industry & Art Named CoStar's Philadelphia Sale/Acquisition of the Year

CoStar has named the revitalization of two former University of the Arts buildings in Center City as its 2026 Impact Awards Philadelphia Sale/Acquisition of the Year. A Ballard Spahr team helped renowned urban development and design firm Scout finance the purchase of the properties.

The 110,000-square-foot, 1.9-acre site on which the buildings sit is a fixture of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City Philadelphia. It was home to the University of the Arts, which closed in 2024 after 148 years. Scout purchased Haviland Hall at 320 S. Broad St. and Furness Hall at 320 R. S. Broad St. and has relaunched the properties as the Village of Industry & Art.

After a June 2025 event to honor the legacy of the University of the Arts, Scout hosted Frankie’s Summer Club—a pop-up wine garden and snack bar that drew 25,000 guests over the summer—in the leafy courtyard between the buildings, and plans to turn the site’s former dormitories into affordable housing for artists and creators. Scout Managing Partner Lindsey Scannapieco told CoStar she hopes the Village of Industry & Art will be a driver of the Avenue of the Arts’ renaissance “as a place where artists work, gather, and shape the cultural life of the city.”

Ballard Spahr Corporate Partner Zachary Gorman led the equity capital raise for the purchase and renovation of Hamilton and Furness Halls. He was supported by Tax Partner Sharon Shachar; Corporate Counsel Andrew M. Banks, whose practice focuses on investment funds; and Corporate Associate Mischka Stone.

CoStar's Impact Awards highlight the commercial real estate transactions and projects that have transformed their markets over the past year. The winners are chosen by independent panels of industry professionals who work in the markets they judge. Further information on the awards can be found on CoStar’s website.

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