Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts marks the grand opening of the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, a $172 million redevelopment project that promises to transform New Brunswick’s downtown cultural arts district and provide new performance and professional opportunities for students at Mason Gross, the university’s arts conservatory.

“The opening of NBPAC creates a tremendous opportunity for Mason Gross students to strengthen the reputation of New Brunswick as a performing arts destination and to perfect their skills and artistry in a state-of-the-art performance space,” said Rutgers University–New Brunswick Chancellor Christopher J. Molloy. “This outstanding public-private partnership will provide cultural enrichment and economic benefits far beyond the great city of New Brunswick.”

Mason Gross, one of NBPAC’s four member performing arts organizations along with American Repertory Ballet, George Street Playhouse, and Crossroads Theatre Company, celebrated a soft opening event on Wednesday evening with a student dance performance of Heaven on One’s Head, a work by Mason Gross faculty member and acclaimed choreographer Pam Tanowitz.