City of Montreal has multi-million dollar plan for Empress Theatre ... again

The new City of Montreal administration plans to convert the long-vacant Empress Theatre to a community space.

Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada’s new City of Montreal administration says it has a new project in mind for the former Empress Theatre.

The theatre has been sitting abandoned for nearly 35 years on Sherbrooke Street West, and the Côte-des-Neiges- Notre-Dame-des-Grâce borough mayor plans to do something none of its predecessors have managed to do with the space.

“The goal, long-term, is to have a full fledged, beautiful a place of culture,” said borough mayor Stephanie Valenzuela.

The borough announced that it will spend roughly $10 million to tear down the century-old Egyptian Revival-style building that has been empty since 1992.

The exterior façade will remain in place, and the inner open court will be used for community activities.

“Having cleared the first step of demolition, decontamination and revitalization, so we want to be able to move forward in 2027 with the work for an opening date of fall 2027,” said Snowdon councillor Sonny Moroz.

The more ambitious development plans would include community or business space and even housing.

A fire destroyed the interior of the building in 1992 and then three decades of restoration proposals, demolition and redevelopment plans and conversion ideas have come to nothing.

The borough mayor insists, however, that this time, the plan will work.

“I understand everyone’s cynicism today reading in the news that we have another announcement from a new administration,” she said.

Those who’ve been there before, however, say it’s easier said than done.

“This is a difficult project, much more difficult than people think,” said opposition city councillor Peter McQueen.