{"id":501637,"date":"2026-02-26T21:25:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T21:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/501637\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T21:25:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T21:25:37","slug":"ndgs-empress-theatre-to-be-demolished-site-repurposed-as-cultural-space-montreal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/501637\/","title":{"rendered":"NDG\u2019s Empress Theatre to be demolished, site repurposed as cultural space – Montreal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Its rebirth has been promised again and again, but the newest generation of politicians running the C\u00f4te-des-Neiges\u2013Notre-Dame-de-Gr\u00e2ce borough believe they will be the ones to give the abandoned Empress Theatre<\/a> back to the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The local administration is pledging to demolish and decontaminate the decrepit historic building,\u00a0so that only the iconic art deco Egyptian-sculptured facades on Sherbrooke and Old Orchard are left standing.<\/p>\n

The new space created will include an outdoor courtyard that can host movie nights and other community events. Once the demolition is done, C\u00f4te-des-Neiges\u2013Notre-Dame-de-Gr\u00e2ce is hoping to team up with private sector actors to create a whole new building behind the preserved facade.<\/p>\n

They hope an eventual development will include cultural spaces and housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cConcretely, this first phase is something that we are capable of doing under our administration without any other partnerships,\u201d explained borough mayor Stephanie Valenzuela.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

Built in 1927, the Empress had been a movie theatre and a hub for burlesque shows before being abandoned and falling into disrepair. It never recovered after a 1992 fire. Years of neglect and water infiltration have rendered the interior unsalvageable; the borough budgeted about $10 million to gut the structure.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"For<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGet breaking National news<\/p>\n

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat will be the first step towards the full-fledged final project, which could take many more years, but we didn\u2019t want to stay idle and with our arms crossed while we wait for this perfect project to come along,\u201d explained Loyola district city councillor Alexandre Teodoresco.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore on Canada
\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n

Snowdon city councillor Sonny Moroz called the announcement a \u201cpromise kept for NDG residents.\u201d Ensemble Montreal members Valenzuela, Teodoresco and Moroz pledged action on the site in their first 100 days following the 2025 municipal election, which saw their party gain a majority of council seats in the borough.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s four or five administrations in a row that have been trying to eat this elephant in one bite and we believe that it takes a step-forward process in order to get to the finish line,\u201d Moroz said.<\/p>\n

Projet Montreal, who never succeeded in revitalizing the empress during eight years in power, wonders if the new approach will work.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tU.S. judge rules Trump policy on deportation of migrants as unlawful\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tCuba says its forces killed 4 on U.S. speedboat after returning fire\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWould it have been better to wait, to get a full project that was both saving the outside walls and building behind?\u201d wonders Projet Montreal city councillor Peter McQueen. He said he supports the idea of demolishing the building while preserving the iconic facade.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

For local artist Scott MacLeod, many questions remain about a potential phase two.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it social housing? Is it live workspaces for artists? Are there affordable rentals? This still remains to be seen,\u201d said Macleod, who is part of a group called the Empress Cinema Collective.<\/p>\n

Some feel just the demolition and courtyard space with possibility of development is a positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think any move forward is going to be a great move. It\u2019s been an eyesore for too long,\u201d said Clifford Schwartz, president of the Wheel Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least it\u2019s a step forward. Make it more palatable for a developer to come in and say, \u2018OK, this is something that\u2019s doable.’\u201d<\/p>\n

The borough says it will start seeking a contractor for the demolition, in hopes the dismantlement of the building takes place next year. Their goal is for a showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show to take place in the new outdoor square in October 2027.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Its rebirth has been promised again and again, but the newest generation of politicians running the C\u00f4te-des-Neiges\u2013Notre-Dame-de-Gr\u00e2ce borough…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,199686,200434,295,66,199685],"class_list":{"0":"post-501637","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-empress-theatre","11":"tag-empress-theatre-demolition","12":"tag-environment","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-stephanie-valenzuela"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}