As a graduate student in Connecticut, Mino Lora wrote her thesis on creating and producing a free, accessible theater in Upper Manhattan for and about immigrants. Nearly two decades later, the People’s Theatre, which she envisioned and co-founded in 2009, will open its first permanent home in an unexpected site: a new apartment building in Inwood.
The Miramar, at West 206th Street between Ninth and 10th Avenues, is a mixed-income, mixed-use rental building nestled near the Harlem River in a largely immigrant neighborhood. The building, which is nearing completion and recently started leasing, is part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $25 billion plan to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes across New York State. The multidisciplinary performing arts center is slated to open there in July 2026.
The Miramar takes its name from the outdoor saltwater swimming complex that occupied the site from 1926 until it closed in 1969 and was replaced by a supermarket. The developers hope it will be a good neighbor through its design, its partnership with cultural organizations and its and mixed-income model.
In 2018, a rezoning plan was approved in Inwood that would largely reshape the industrial area east of 10th Avenue as part of the city’s effort to create and preserve affordable housing units. Some residents opposed the plan, worried it would change the character and identity of the predominately Dominican community.