As expected, the merger of Pittsburgh Filmmakers and Pittsburgh Center for the Arts has cleared its last legal hurdle with court approval of the transfer of assets.

The new nonprofit arts organization that will oversee operations awaits a new name, but Filmmakers and PCA will retain their names, programs and locations in Oakland and Shadyside, respectively. The two institutions will share marketing, accounting and administrative services.

"It's a great thing for the arts community," said Filmmakers board chairman Alan Gordon in a prepared statement. "The two groups will be able to do more than they could separately."

In August 2004, the PCA had a debt of more than $1 million, and the center's board closed the facility and laid off 13 staff members. A month later, Filmmakers agreed to lend its executive director, Charlie Humphrey, to the center, and he has divided his time between the organizations since then.

PCA was reopened under Humphrey's leadership, and its debt was expected to have been whittled to $420,000 by the start of this year.

The two organizations will merge their budgets as of July 1, with a combined preliminary budget of $3.4 million.

Humphrey now becomes executive director of the merged organizations. Laura Domencic, former assistant director at PCA, is now PCA director. The new director at Filmmakers is Andrew Swensen, who had been that organization's director of finance and corporate relations.