Open Jar plans 40,000-square-foot second Times Square complex
Open Jar Studios plans to expand its Broadway infrastructure with a second Times Square complex, adding approximately 40,000 square feet of rehearsal, audition and training space inside the Paramount Building. The forthcoming facility, reported by the New York Post on 7 September 2026, is planned to occupy the third floor of 1501 Broadway and contain 17 creative spaces.
The new address is intended to complement, rather than replace, Open Jar’s existing operation at 1601 Broadway. According to the New York Post, Lincoln Property Company senior vice-president Jeffrey Rosenblatt said the Paramount Building site would provide smaller studios for work that does not require the double-height rooms available at the current complex. That distinction would give Open Jar two types of workspace within Times Square: large-format rooms at 1601 Broadway and more compact spaces at 1501 Broadway.
Open Jar describes its existing premises as a 50,000-square-foot complex spanning two floors, with 22 column-free studios. Its facilities include two rooms with 22-foot ceilings, sprung dance floors, acoustically treated spaces, pianos and a recording booth, alongside practical services such as printing, loading access and a freight elevator. The studios accommodate rehearsals, performances and training, as well as recording, television, film, photography and corporate events.
The current complex has also served Broadway productions and performers. Open Jar says members of the original Broadway cast of HAMILTON prepared their tenth-anniversary Tony Awards performance there. The New York Post separately reported that MOULIN ROUGE! and THE LOST BOYS have rehearsed at the facility. Those examples place the expansion within Broadway’s working infrastructure, where productions need space for development and preparation away from the stage.
The September report attributes the decision to expand to increased creative-development activity and a need for additional capacity, according to Open Jar founder Jeff Whiting. That rationale has not been supported by published utilisation or waiting-list figures. The confirmed plan centres on spaces for rehearsals, auditions and training, with smaller rooms intended for work that does not require the height and scale of Open Jar’s largest existing studios.
Open Jar’s role extends beyond commercial rehearsal hire. The company operates the Broadway Inclusion Project, which gives selected artists from historically under-represented groups studio credit and related resources for readings, rehearsals, workshops and development. Playbill reported in February 2026 that the Stage Door Foundation’s New Next Now musical-development initiative would also hold readings and performances at Open Jar Studios. The planned facility has not been specifically linked to either program.
Whiting, Open Jar’s president and chief executive, combines the studio business with work as a director, choreographer, producer and theatre entrepreneur. The expansion continues a property story that began before the current complex opened: a 2018 citybuzz New York commercial-property report documented lease activity at 1601 Broadway, while the New York Post dates the facility’s opening to 2019. The earlier account concerns the lease rather than a verified opening, and the available reports do not clarify the precise transition to operations.
The New York Post reports that Lincoln Property Company represented Open Jar in the transaction for the new premises. It also identifies the Shubert Organization and National Artists Management as backers of Open Jar, although the nature and size of their interests have not been disclosed. Lease length, rent, financing, landlord contributions and construction costs for the Paramount Building expansion are likewise unreported. No anticipated staffing or employment impact has been disclosed.
The choice of 1501 Broadway places Open Jar within a building with a historic theatre identity and an established performing-arts tenant. The Martha Graham Center operates a separate 30,000-square-foot headquarters with six studios on the eleventh floor. Open Jar’s proposed third-floor complex would add another theatre and training operation to that existing creative ecosystem while remaining distinct from the dance organisation’s facilities.
For Broadway practitioners and international theatre followers, including Australians tracking how work reaches New York stages, the expansion offers a view of the physical resources behind auditions, readings, workshops and production rehearsals. No Australian artist, producer or production has been connected to the project, and the development is an industry-infrastructure story rather than an audience-facing Broadway opening.
Several practical details remain outstanding. Open Jar has not yet released a precise opening date, construction timetable or account of the current build-out status for 1501 Broadway. Floor plans, individual room dimensions, ceiling heights, accessibility information and technical specifications are also unavailable. The 17-space total does not yet show how the facility will divide its rehearsal, audition and training functions. The next key milestone will be confirmation of when the complex will open and accept bookings, together with its rates and whether benefits offered at 1601 Broadway will extend to the new location.
