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If you’ve been watching the Brooklyn Mirage saga unfold like a soap opera, here’s the latest plot twist: the legendary nightlife brand behind Ibiza’s Pacha is set to take over the troubled East Williamsburg venue. The big question for New Yorkers isn’t who owns it anymore, but it’s whether the lights will actually come back on.
According to exclusive reporting from BKMag, FIVE Holdings, the Dubai-based parent company of Pacha, is set to buy Avant Gardner and its flagship property, the Brooklyn Mirage, from Axar Capital Management. Axar scooped up most of Avant Gardner’s assets after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August, after months of financial turmoil and canceled shows. The deal could officially turn the Mirage into “Pacha New York,” reviving a name that last operated in the city in Hell’s Kitchen from 2005 to 2016.
That alone would be big news, but the Mirage’s recent history makes this more than just a rebrand. The venue spent roughly $30 million on renovations last year, only to fail safety inspections and never reopen for the season. By October, its owners were filing permits to demolish the structure entirely. Then the city’s Department of Buildings hit pause on the demolition application. Since then, the space has sat in limbo: too broken to actually party in, yet too controversial to knock down.
Now, Pacha, a brand synonymous with glossy, globe-trotting club culture and massive DJ bookings, enters the picture. If the sale goes through, the Mirage would likely be reborn as Pacha New York, bringing one of the world's most famous nightlife brands back to the city.
Industry sources quoted by BKMag describe the deal as more than a simple ownership change, warning that deep-pocketed global nightlife groups could reshape New York’s electronic music scene, especially while some ticketholders are still waiting on refunds from canceled Mirage shows and Electric Zoo.
The honest answer is that the space probably will reopen, but not soon—and not quietly. Neither Avant Gardner nor FIVE Holdings has confirmed timelines, construction plans or an opening date. But the shift from demolition permits to international club branding suggests that the Brooklyn Mirage isn’t quite dead yet. Whether it comes back as a beloved comeback story or just another glossy megaclub remains to be seen.