The saga of the Empress Theatre continues.

The ECC says it won't be deterred from creating a vision plan for the Empress.

Published on December 9th, 2010

Elisabeth Faure

The latest developments in the fight to save the NDG Art Deco landmark include a petition and a legal notice.

Topics :

Empress Theatre , Empress Cultural Centre Board , SNC Lavalin

Two months after a new board took over management of the Empress, the C.D.N./N.D.G. borough and board members remain at loggerheads over the theatre’s future.

The ECC wants to move ahead with a “visioning process”, bringing together different stakeholders to hammer out a plan for the Empress’ future - followed by a full-scale renovation. In the meantime, they want to move ahead with essential repairs to as a temporary measure to keep the theatre from deteriorating further.

But the borough would prefer to see a concrete plan of action from the Empress Cultural Centre Board (ECC) before proceeding. They say the building poses a danger to the public, and is in need of immediate repairs.

On December 2nd, the ECC was served with a legal papers by the borough, demanding a list of repairs within the next five days (and a deadline of only 24 hours to fix a crumbling chimney).

ECC President Paul Scriver says the move took the Board by surprise.

At a November 15th meeting, the Board discussed repairs to the Empress with borough Mayor Michael Applebaum. A November 26th press release from the ECC described the meeting as, “constructive,” and said the ECC and the borough were in agreement the theatre, while not in danger of collapsing, did require numerous repairs.

Following the meeting, the borough’s Empress project director, Amar Bensaci, came to the theatre with a plumber, to repair a leaky interior drain in front of the theatre. Bensaci also promised to return with an electrician to fix the theatre’s interior lighting.

However, “no one ever showed up,” says Scriver. Instead, the ECC found themselves on the receiving end of an "avis de non-conformité" (notice of non-compliance). “We were told to expect "a letter" within a few days (at the November 15th meeting), but it was not specified what that letter would be exactly,” says Scriver. “In any case, the letter did not arrive, only the inspectors (with a day's warning) and then the avis.”

On December 2nd, the ECC was served with a legal papers by the borough, demanding a list of repairs within the next five days (and a deadline of only 24 hours to fix a crumbling chimney).-

Scriver says the repairs the borough is demanding are costly and impossible to accomplish overnight. And the ECC has yet to see the inspector’s report upon which the demands are based.

The borough’s report, prepared by SNC Lavalin, has so far remained under wraps. After repeated demands, the borough has agreed to let members of the ECC view the report, on the condition they cannot have their own copy of the document.

At a December 6th meeting of the borough council, the ECC submitted a petition urging the borough to declare the Empress a heritage site, and support its revival as a cultural centre.

“It’s their democratic right,” says borough spokesperson Michel Therrien. “And there’s no question we all want to save the Empress - it’s a question of how viable the project is.”

Scriver has now received a lawyer’s letter from the borough, holding each board member directly responsible for any public hazard posed by the building. He is discouraged by the recent "belligerence" of the borough, but says the ECC won't be deterred from creating a vision plan for the Empress.

With the winter here, and the Empress still in need of repairs, here's hoping the borough and the ECC will be able to move beyond their differences and find common ground.