Former Gov Island CEO Will Lead WTC Performing Arts Center

WORLD TRADE CENTER, NY — The former president of the Trust for Governors Island Leslie Koch was named the next head of the World Trade Center's upcoming performing arts center — the final piece of the masterplan for the World Trade Center campus.

Leslie Koch, who led Governors Island from 2006 to 2016, will lead the Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center, the board of directors of the future arts center announced.

Maggie Boepple, the Perelman's current president since 2012, will continue to serve as an advisor.

"Leslie led the way in helping us transform an old military installation into a stunning new public park and cultural attraction in the middle of New York Harbor," former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and chairman of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum said in a statement. "Now she will bring her talent and drive to creating another iconic destination — the Perelman Performing Arts Center — at the World Trade Center."

For a decade, Koch turned an abandoned military base at Governors Island into a public park space. Visitors per season grew from 8,000 to 600,000 in that time.

At the Perelman, Koch will work with artistic director Bill Raunch on the center — a part of the larger masterplan to rebuild the 16-acre World Trade Center campus conceived in 2003.

The Perelman will include common spaces, a restaurant and cafe and artistic performances.

"Bill and I share the belief that the arts are what bring us together as a people. This beautiful building will welcome artists and audiences from everywhere. It is my privilege to work with Bill, the Board of Directors, and the Perelman staff and team to bring the longstanding vision for culture at Ground Zero to life," Koch said in a statement.

The cubical design with a marble facade will be adjacent to the 9/11 Memorial's north reflecting pool.

The performing arts center had its gigantic steel beams installed on-site this year, and the building is expected to open for regular programming in the months following a commemorative program for the 20th anniversary of 9/11 in 2021, a spokeswoman for the Perelman said.