The Pittsburgh Opera performs "Aida" in April, but it also will be making a Grand March of its own.

The company will relocate its offices -- computers, costumes, sets, music equipment and all -- from its Cultural District home to the Strip District.

The Opera will continue to perform at the Benedum Center, but it plans to construct a space in the new property on Liberty Avenue for some public performances.

The company had to vacate its 801 Penn Ave. residence because the Cultural Trust plans on razing the building to make room for its new RiverParc development that will include housing and commercial space, as well as parking.

"We thought we were in trouble," Opera general director Mark Weinstein said of the need to find a new facility. "But [the move to the Strip] is one of the best things that happened to us. "

The new facility, at 2425 Liberty Ave., will more than double its current space and include two mammoth rehearsal rooms.

Like many opera companies nationally, the Opera doesn't own its own hall, forcing it to compete with other arts groups for Benedum stage time -- not just for performances, but for rehearsals as well.

"We have extremely limited time on the stage," said the Opera's artistic director Christopher Hahn. "We get every ounce out of it." Exacerbating the issue is that the backstage rehearsal rooms at the Benedum are not always available and most scenery cannot be transported there. "We often have to rehearse not on the actual set, but on marked up floors," he said.

But in the newly acquired 40,000-square-foot building, a former Westinghouse Air Brake Co. factory, the Opera will be able to rehearse with scenery and without time restrictions. "I cannot wait for the ability to schedule freely," Mr. Hahn said.

"It will increase the quality of our Benedum productions because of increased rehearsal time," said Mr. Weinstein.

The Opera will join companies in St. Louis, Minneapolis, Dallas and Seattle that have dedicated rehearsal space. Some larger houses, such as the Metropolitan Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, own their own halls.

"This is the price of progress, not just for RiverParc, but for their artistic excellence," said Kevin McMahon, Cultural Trust president. "We would love it if they could remain in the Cultural District, but as they have artistically grown, they need a better space."

Initially, the talk of a move caused consternation at the Opera, exacerbated by some confusion on whether the lease might be extended to allow for a prolonged search. "We really only became convinced that [RiverParc] was going to happen in the early part of the summer," said Mr. Weinstein. "We had to scramble."

But he said the Cultural Trust worked hard to find the Opera a suitable and affordable new place in the Cultural District, but simply came up empty. The Cultural Trust has subsidized the Opera's rent on Penn Avenue since the company moved there in 1998, charging roughly $150,000 a year, or $8 a square foot -- a rate the Opera could not find in other Downtown properties.

Ultimately, Mr. Weinstein feels the trouble was worth it. "It turned into a huge boon for the opera."

The Opera will close on the Strip District warehouse on Nov. 30, buying the property outright for $2.5 million. It hopes to raise $8 million for the purchase and subsequent renovations and for maintenance.

"Our board has already contributed over $1 million and several other donors have indicated commitments to an additional $2.5 million, all in the space of two and a half months," said Mr. Weinstein.