Rendering of The Metropolitan Opera House, Philadelphia, PA (AOS Architects)

PHILADELPHIA, PA—The Philadelphia Metropolitan Opera House, built in 1908 by Oscar Hammerstein, reopened Monday night with a sell-out performance by Bob Dylan and his band, after being shuttered for more than 20 years.

What started with a signature $3 million pre-development loan from Procida Funding in 2015 to complete environmental remediation, architectural design, structure drawings, and other pre-development work, evolved into a $56 million financing package orchestrated by Procida Funding for developer Eric Blumenfeld and his partner, Reverend Mark Hatcher of Holy Ghost Revival Center at The Met.

“This is one of the greatest projects we have ever been involved with, as well as the most complicated financial structure in my 37- year-career,” says William “Billy” Procida. “And coming in ahead of schedule and on budget to restore this grand landmark makes it all the better.”

Procida provided $4.5 million of preferred equity and then orchestrated additional financing from Fulton Bank, Enhanced Capital, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

At the opening of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Opera House are, from left: Derek Weissman, asset manager from Procida Funding & Advisors; Eric Blumenfeld from EB Realty Management; Billy Procida, CEO of Procida Funding & Advisors; Rev. Mark Hatcher, Holy Ghost Revival Center at The Met
 

The project is net leased to Live Nation, which will operate the property as a concert and event venue. Signage rights for The Met were sold to Citibank.

“Following our formalized collaboration with Eric Blumenfeld, developer of The Met, I prayed to God for the financial resources to fulfill our portion of the fiscal component of this huge restoration,” says Hatcher. “God sent Billy Procida from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey!”

“The past six years Billy Procida and Procida Funding have been at my side, providing capital, guidance, advice, and inspiration. This truly would not have been possible without them,” says Blumenfeld.

This is the fourth project on North Broad by developer Blumenfeld and Procida Funding. The collaborations between Blumenfeld and Procida have totaled more than $150 million, which has spurred an equal amount of additional new development.

Construction was handled by Domus Construction, architectural design by AOS Architects, and structural engineering by David Chou & Associates. Procida and Blumenfeld will soon announce the first Opportunity Zone project on North Broad Street, a mixed-use building on the corner of North Broad and Spring Garden.