Last chance for Empress Theatre
The Côte-des-Neiges–NotreDame-de-Grâce borough wants to give a non-profit group a last chance to revive the Empress Theatre.
In September 2012, the borough approved a proposal by Cinéma NDG to renovate the crumbling theatre on Sherbrooke St. W. at Old Orchard Ave.
It agreed to donate the Empress to the non-profit group on the condition it raise financing for the $12-million renovation by Dec. 31, 2013. That deadline was extended to October 2014, and then to October 2015.
Now the borough is proposing to give Cinéma NDG a final extension, to June 30, 2016. Councillors will vote on the issue Monday evening.
According to a recommendation signed by borough manager Stéphane Plante, Cinéma NDG has lined up $9.5 million in financing, which would cover 84 per cent of projected construction costs and 70 per cent of the project’s total cost.
The city and provincial culture department have promised an additional $1 million to redo the building’s outer walls, and the group said it’s on the verge of signing a partnership agreement that would raise another $2 million. It also plans to hold a fundraising campaign.
“The Cinéma NDG organization has exercised constant followup in this file and has always shared information with the municipal administration in a clear and transparent way,” a borough document states.
It notes the project would make “an important contribution to the economic and social revitalization of the district.”
Built in 1927 across from N.D.G. Park as a vaudeville theatre and silent-movie palace, the Empress is Canada’s only surviving Egyptian-style theatre. Many Montrealers remember it as the Cinema V repertory theatre. It closed in 1992 after a fire, and the city bought the property in 1999.
A previous project to revive it as a cultural venue failed.
Cinéma NDG’s project would include four state-of-the-art screening rooms to showcase art films and documentaries.
An exhibition hall and conference space are also planned.
About 20 per cent of the building would be turned over to commercial use to ensure the venture is self-sufficient.
The Egyptian-style facade would be kept and restored.
The city document noted the property has been evaluated at $1.5 million for the purposes of the donation, but the existing building on the site actually lowers its market value because restoring it would cost more than erecting a new building. The property is evaluated at $860,000 for tax purposes.