Florence's historic Teatro Comunale to become luxury apartments

The former Teatro Comunale in Florence, inaugurated in 1862 and long home to the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, is being redeveloped into the Teatro Luxury Apartments complex with over 150 units managed by Starhotels. The theater was demolished in 2021 after the opera moved to a new space designed by ABDR Architetti Associati near Stazione Leopolda, which opened its Zubin Mehta auditorium in December 2021. The redevelopment, led by Vittorio Grassi Architects, includes three new residential buildings around a public square, a wellness center, coworking spaces, and a restaurant. Starhotels partners with Hines and Blue Noble, branding the asset under Starhotels Collezione. The project is part of broader urban regeneration in Florence, including the Manifattura Tabacchi cultural hub (opened 2019), Alfredo Pirri's installation at the new opera house, and the planned OGR creative hub at the former Officine Grandi Riparazioni. Meanwhile, the Cinema Odeon will reopen with a Giunti bookstore and cinema on 60% of its space, and the city's new structural plan blocks new hotels in the center while promoting mixed-use developments like the ex-Fabbrica Campolmi. Controversy continues over Arata Isozaki's planned Uffizi entrance, opposed by Vittorio Sgarbi.