N.D.G. residents, groups present ideas to transform Empress Theatre

The Côte-des-neiges—notre-dame-de-grâce borough has reached a new phase in the long-anticipated transformation of the Empress Theatre on Sherbrooke St.: the presentation of project ideas from community groups and residents.

The first of three nights of virtual presentations began on Tuesday, during which four presenters proposed elaborate plans for the future of the space opposite Girouard Park.

Most of the ideas involved maintaining a theatre aspect to some extent, which historian Camille Bédard, one of the presenters, said was an integral part of maintaining the Empress's roots.

“I think it's necessary to keep one part of its vocation as a cinema,” Bédard said after a 20-minute presentation on its history and its link to other similar theatres. “However, where the building is and considering the needs of the community, I think a new Empress with a mixed use would be much more appropriate.”

Jérôme Glad, another presenter, suggested allocating space for a cinema/venue, a microbrewery, a co-working space and workshop studios — ideas that echoed an earlier presentation by the N.D.G. Community Council. “A teen participates in an atelier on podcast recording on the floors where we can see a community workshop space,” Glad said in reference to a diagram, “while the parents have brunch in the microbrewery.”

The borough began its plan to revive the space in March 2020 when it mandated the Société d'habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM) to “breathe new life” into it, nearly three decades after a fire caused it to close. The city of Montreal became the owner of the building in 1999 and the borough took over in 2011. There were multiple attempts to revive to space, but none ever came to fruition.

Before the final curtain in 1992, the Empress Theatre played host to dinner theatre, repertory cinema and burlesque, among other things, and the borough says it looks forward to turning it back into a cultural gathering place.

More than 100 ideas were submitted on how to transform the space.

Montrealers who'd like to participate in the virtual event can find the link on the city's website under “Transformation of the Empress — ideas and projects presentation.”