Mega-Nightclub Will Open At Exit Site
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
A new music venue is scheduled to open in Midtown in October, moving into a site previously occupied by the much-maligned Exit nightclub.
The venue, Terminal 5, will be operated by the Bowery Presents, a concert-promotion company that runs the popular Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge in Lower Manhattan.
Renovations are under way at the Terminal 5 site on 56th Street at 11th Avenue. The old nightclub is being completely gutted and transformed into a venue that will accommodate 3,000 people, which will make it the largest venue to open in Midtown in more than 10 years, according to an announcement from the Bowery Presents. The company has signed a long-term lease for the property.
The Bowery Presents began its operations with the 250-person capacity Mercury Lounge on Houston Street in 1994, and opened the 550-person Bowery Ballroom in 1998. The two clubs have earned a reputation for promoting bands such as the Shins, the Strokes, and the White Stripes into major acts.
“Opening Terminal 5 allows us to continue providing better venues for bands and the best live experience for fans,” a partner in the Bowery Presents, Michael Swier, said. “We’ve worked with these bands as they’ve grown, and we’re thrilled to be able to provide a larger venue for them to play.”
The 40,000-square-foot venue will include a 40-foot-high ceiling and two mezzanines that wrap around the concert hall. It also be three bars, one on each level.
Exit, the nightclub that previously occupied the sight, closed in 2003 after charges of ongoing drug activity were brought following an investigation by the police department.
