The Paramount Center

In a remarkable feat of adaptive reuse, one derelict theater, an arcade building and a vacant lot were transformed into a mixed-use academic center requiring dissimilar programs that include residential, educational, business and performing arts. The special design challenge was to convert a neglected 1,500-seat 1931 cinema to a 590-seat full proscenium theater within the original building footprint and envelope massing. All the work was accomplished in a dense urban neighborhood with limited street frontage. Its exterior and interior look beautiful, and the systems upgrades are fantastic.