On Thursday December 18th, 2008, at 10:00 am, City Council will consider a staff recommendation.

Council’s decision will determine the future of the York Theatre.

If Council approves the staff recommendation to grant a transfer of density to cover one-third of the restoration costs, the York Theatre will be demolished.

If Council approves the prospective buyer’s request to grant a transfer of density to cover 100% of the restoration costs, the York Theatre will be restored.

The Save the York Theatre Society is asking Council to approve a density transfer of 100% of the value of the restoration.

Our Last Opportunity

This is our last opportunity to save the York Theatre.

To register to speak at City Council this Thursday, email Denise Salmon click here.

To express your views by email to the Mayor and Council click here.

To contribute to the conversation on the Vancouver Arts and Cultures Forum use the comment box below.

The Story

The York Theatre was purchased by a developer in 2007 with the intention to demolish the building and build residential units.

The Save the York Theatre Society mobilized the community to stop the demolition and found a benefactor interested in purchasing and restoring the theatre.

The Vancouver East Cultural Centre Society expressed an interest in operating the theatre and began working with the benefactor and the City.

On September 18th, 2008, City Council placed a 120-day protection order on the York Theatre to allow the Vancouver East Cultural Centre Society to complete a Feasibility Study and Operation Plan for the York Theatre.

The benefactor agreed to purchase and pay for the complete restoration of the theatre in exchange for increased density on another site in the City. The City donates air and the community receives a fully restored theatre.

The staff report does not support this proposal. It recommends the Vancouver East Cultural Centre Society fund raise for two thirds of the restoration cost. The Society stated from the beginning they were not in a position to do any fund raising.

On January 16, the current owner will have the right to begin demolition of the York Theatre. Although staff recommends Council ask him to voluntarily postpone demolition, the owner intends to tear the building down as soon the protection order expires in mid-January 2009 and has already started dismantling the interior.

The December 18th Council meeting is our last opportunity to save the York Theatre

More Information

To read the Staff Recommendations and Report to Council on the York Theatre PDF click here

To read the call to the community which attracted the interest of a benefactor to Save the York Theatre click here

To read the History and Vision for the York Theatre click here

To read about the Need for Theatre Space in Vancouver click here

To read what Heritage Vancouver says about the York Theatre as one of the 2008 Top Ten Endangered Sites click here

To read what the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance says about the York Theatre click here

The Pantages Theatre is for Sale

The historic Pantages Theatre is at imminent risk. The Pantages is one of Vancouver’s three historic theatres that face an uncertain future.

The current owner inspired the community with his ideas to restore and reopen the Theatre. After investing three years in the project the owner has put the Theatre up for sale.

The For Sale sign means the owner and the City of Vancouver were unable to reach an agreement. This creates an opportunity to build on three years of groundwork and avoid losing the theatre to demolition or neglect.

Opportunities

• The City of Vancouver could buy and restore the theatre and operate it as a publicly owned facility.
• The City of Vancouver could buy or option the theatre and collaborate with the community to find a proposal that works.
• A new buyer with an interest in taking over the project could purchase the property.

Letter from the Pantages Theatre Arts Society
Letter from Community Arts Council of Vancouver
Letter from Heritage Vancouver

View related news

A group of community members who are interested in saving and restoring the York Theatre met at City Hall on December 6, 2007 with the new owner of the York Theatre and a number of representatives from the Planning Department, Cultural Affairs, and Heritage Group for the City of Vancouver.

The History and Vision for the York Theatre tells the story of why the York Theatre should be saved and restored. Click here

It was clear from this meeting that the new owner and developer, Paul Phillips of Edge Homes, has no interest in preserving the theatre. During the city strike, he was led to believe there would be no opposition to the demolition of the theatre and a townhouse development.

It is now clear that there is considerable support from the community for restoring and maintaining the theatre from the many letters and emails members of the community wrote to City Council. Our work is not over. The developer has a vested interest in this property and every day that goes by costs him money.

It is urgent that we communicate our desire to preserve this cultural facility and to act quickly to find a solution that will work for the developer and the community.

Recently we lost the historic Imperial Theatre, most recently known as the Venus Theatre, on Main at Union Street. Though rundown in recent years, this was still a restorable and usable purpose-built theatre, discovered to be in excellent condition once the demolition started. It opened in 1912 with a performance of Il Trovatore.

Also lost recently is the lovely art deco turret building at Georgia and Richards, formerly used as the Fido display and sales centre. We must stop this demolition of our architectural and cultural heritage.

The Opportunity to Save The York Theatre

Buy the York Theatre. The contribution is clear. The risk of losing any capital invested is low. Financing can be arranged to make costs tax deductible. The community will appreciate the contribution, and the opportunity is open to be part of the creative team. It could be an individual, a foundation, a business, or a community organization like the Coal Harbour Society, or a cooperative of contributors.

Tom Durrie
Save the York Theatre Society
email tdurrie@telus.net
604-215-0019

Contributors to the Save the York Theatre Society

Clifford Cox, Dr. Stephen Drance, Tom Durrie, David Galpin, Christopher Gaze, Spencer Massie, Heather Redfern, José Verstappen

More on the York Theatre

The Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance wishes to express its strongest possible support for a civic initiative to help preserve and revitalize this precious and historic cultural facility.

At a time when public attention is on the significant lack of performing arts resources, the loss of this venue would be a crisis of vision and leadership. Having a theatre like the York destroyed through civic inaction in any cosmopolitan city would be just cause for dismay. That it could well happen here in Vancouver is deeply unsettling.

We urge Council to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the preservation of this theatre. We understand the Save the York Theatre Society will be presenting a comprehensive business plan for the restoration and re-development of the theatre. We further understand that time is of the essence and ask that any move toward demolition be delayed or halted.

We would like to confirm that there is strong support from the theatre community for the preservation of the York Theatre. We greatly appreciate the city’s initiative in launching a study on cultural facilities in 07/08. We also appreciate and thank the city for its efforts in broadly consulting the community in this process. However, while the city conducts this important work of thoroughly assessing the present and future needs for arts facilities of all types, we also encourage Council to act quickly in this particular set of circumstances to help preserve the York Theatre before it is torn down.

We think it would be a great shame if Vancouver loses one if its landmark theatres, a venue which represents a significant part of Vancouver’s cultural history.

Tanja Dixon Warren, President
Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance
January 10, 2008

email info@gvpta.ca
Call 604 608 6923
www.gvpta.ca

Proposed street front of the restored York Theatre – Downs-Archambault design 1982

A History and Vision for the York Theatre has been created by the Save the York Theatre Society. The Forum on the Future of Theatres reflected the community’s concerns about our last remaining opportunities to preserve and restore our heritage theatres. The need for theatre space in Vancouver is clear. The Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance confirms there is strong support from the theatre community. The City’s report on the Coal Theatre Arts Complex concluded there is a shortage of performance venues in the City. And the Vancouver East Cultural Centre indicated it could operate the theatre on an interim basis if it was returned to early use and restored fully later.

The Save the York Theatre Society met on December 18th to what consider steps could be taken to save the York. The group had met with representatives of the new owner and people from the City Planning and Cultural Affairs Departments at City Hall on December 6th to learn the developer was open to possibilities.

It will take time to answer the questions related to creating a future for the theatre – who might operate it, – who might use it, – and how its restoration and future operation could be financed.

Time is running out. Since the developers are open to conversation but anxious to move ahead on their project to realize a return on their investment, it was decided the best course of action would be to find someone willing to buy the York Theatre from the new owner and hold it on behalf of the community until these questions could be answered and plans created.

The contribution to the community is clear. The land would provide security for someone willing to do this so the risk of losing any capital invested is low. Financing can be arranged to make costs tax deductible. The community will appreciate the contribution and the opportunity is open to be part of the creative team. It could be an individual, a foundation, a business, a community organization like the Coal Harbour Arts Complex Society, or a cooperative of contributors. The property was purchased by the developer for just under a million dollars.

For more information and interest in this opportunity contact
Tom Durrie
Save the York Theatre Society
email tdurrie@telus.net
604-215-0019

More on the York Theatre

This year marks the Centennial of the opening of Vancouver’s Pantages Theatre. One century ago, it stood for everything that was beautiful, new and exciting in theatre. Today, the Pantages remains all of that, – and it has also become a beacon of change and hope in the Downtown Eastside.

With the support of the City, the Pantages will be fully restored as the dazzler it once was and upgraded to modern technical standards. It has a superb acoustic, seats 650, and will offer new lobbies, a rehearsal studio, an enlarged pit, and every modern amenity. It will be restored with meticulous attention to its irreplaceable heritage value. And it will be managed in the public interest by the non-profit Pantages Theatre Arts Society on a long-term lease from its developer.

If you believe that live theatre will make a difference in the Downtown Eastside, please tell City Council. If you believe that Western Canada’s oldest theatre deserves to be saved and restored, please tell City Council. If your own company in music, dance, theatre, film, video, whatever your art may be, believes that you need and would use such a theatre, please tell City Council.

And if you see a chance to add a first class, mid-size facility to the performing arts in Vancouver, please tell City Council.

In the last two years, we have held more than 320 meetings in favour of the Pantages Project and toured more than 1400 people through it. You probably remember the day you first saw it. I do and I was astonished.

If we do this together, we will restore a theatre and renew a neighbourhood. If we do this well, the Pantages will last another hundred years.

We need your help. We need you to write a letter to The Mayor and Council, 453 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver V5Y 1V4, in support of the Pantages.

Please contact me if you have questions, ideas, or support. Thank you

Peter Fairchild
President
Pantages Theatre Arts Society
email petertf@shaw.ca

There are several major issues to be addressed in the preservation and restoration of theatres in Vancouver, like the York and he Vogue. They are Heritage, Cultural Infrastructure, Cultural Development, and Economic Development. There are also environmental issues around the use of materials and energy required for new construction, and around the disposal of the proceeds of demolition that should also be a consideration if we take a holistic approach to these projects.

Heritage

It is important for a City to preserve its heritage. There are many aspects to determining the heritage and historic value of a structure and it needs some process to determine what is of historical value. We cannot afford to save everything nor is everything worth saving

The City can provide incentives, as it has, to preserve projects because they have heritage, historic, or aesthetic value to induce the private sector to make this happen. However, if it is decided that a building has historic value, and there is no mechanism through which it can be maintained by the private sector or through a public private partnership, then it is appropriate for government to step in the common community interest.

Cultural Infrastructure

The City requires cultural infrastructure. There are many reports articulating this need. The last major report resulted in the establishment of the Coal Harbour Theatre Society with the idea of creating two needed theatres on the Marathon lands, one with 1500 seats and one with 650 seats.

The society of citizens constituted to realize theatre infrastructure has $10 million in the bank. It is hard to imagine an existing theatre that could be renovated to create a 1500 seat lyric opera house. However, if the City really needs a 650 seat second stage, as all studies have concluded, then an appropriate renovation of the Vogue could provide it. The City should have bought it when it was for sale.

The post office building could provide a shell to meet all the cultural, visual, and performing arts needs of the City, creating a critical mass in one central and powerful location.

Cultural Development

One could ask, “If the art deco marquee is maintained, what is wrong with the Vogue being converted to a cabaret or club? Won’t that help animate Granville Street as much if not more than a theatre?”

Theatres need users, – people on the stage and people in the seats. Most theatres have users who help support the hardware and software of the facility. The Stanley Theatre has the Arts Club. The Orpheum Theatre has the Symphony. The Playhouse Theatre has the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company. The Queen Elizabeth Theatre has the Vancouver Opera and Ballet BC and Vancouver Opera, although both need an 1800 seat hall since the Queen Elizabeth is too large for them. The Vancouver East Cultural Centre, the Firehall Theatre, and the Dance Centre are operated by non-profit societies mad viable by the network of users that keep those spaces occupied. The Bard on the Beach has its tents.

If the owners of the Vogue are willing to sell the theatre, we need one or more credible and substantial groups to surface with the interest or resources to acquire, restore, and operate the Vogue. Who would run and occupy the Vogue? It could be a road show and rental venue, or become home for an organization like Bard on the Beach who could use it for a winter house, or the Playhouse Theatre Company who might wish to replace their existing City run facility, freeing the Civic Theatre Playhouse for multiple use as required by the needs study.

Economic Development

Cultural infrastructure animates the City and generates economic development. It also contributes to making cities socially and culturally attractive for business and tourism.
With the exception of experiences related to the Aboriginal community, tourists are not coming to Vancouver for the cultural experience. If we want to make Vancouver a destination for cultural travel, we need to take steps to improve the quality of performance art and the display of visual art in our City to the highest possible levels by getting the human and financial resources needed to our performing and creative organizations.

Vancouver is a very small and special cultural place with a relatively small pool of people from which to draw its audiences or patrons. There are a limited number of corporate headquarters to provide support. Much of the decision-making for that support, and for federal government support, takes place far away in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Cultural institutions in Vancouver have to bridge this divide, compete locally for funds with health and educational facilities, and compete for the attention of audiences who are also stimulated by the many outdoor activities Vancouver offers.

Recommendations

The development of cultural infrastructure cannot take place without the creation of endowment funding to assure the viable operation of our facilities

We should create an independent Cultural Infrastructure Authority similar to the Airport Authority to replace the Civic Theatres Department and create an assured source of funding to create infrastructure, and to provide operating funds to user groups.

Create the ability to issue tax free municipal bonds for the development of cultural infrastructure particularly for theatres, the development of the cultural precinct, and the acquisition and retrofitting of the Post Office as a mixed use cultural palace.

In the absence of being able to issue municipal bonds, create more incentives for private investors and for the creation of public private partnerships.

Use the $10 million of Marathon funds to acquire and renovate the York Theatre and turn it over to the Coal Harbour Theatre Society or a newly created Cultural Infrastructure Authority to operate.

If the owners are not prepared to sell and the City is not prepared to make a deal and put up the necessary dollars, we will have to let the Vogue go, but we should take steps to protect the marquee. The interior would be toast.

Determine how the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee’s cultural planning and spending can contribute to creating the City’s cultural infrastructure, and to supporting our cultural organizations.

Determine how to communicate more effectively and support communications to lobby for funding support from both Ottawa and Victoria.

Continue to enhance art, music, dance, and theatre appreciation in the schools.

Establish programs that encourage creative people to come to live and work in Vancouver.

Prepared by:
Herb Auerbach
Vancouver BC
October 4, 2007