After more than 30 years sitting vacant, the former Empress Theatre site in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce is being considered for a temporary year-round public space, with residents being asked what they would like to see there.
The borough plans to preserve the site’s neo-Egyptian facades while the rest of the property is deconstructed and decontaminated.
During the redevelopment, the space could be used for families, community activities and cultural programming.
“It was 30 years in the making and the waiting of the community here. It was waited long enough and we decided to start eating the elephant one bite at a time and this is the first bite,” said Alexandre Teodoresco, city councillor for the Loyola district in NDG with Ensemble Montréal.
For some residents, preserving the building’s distinctive architecture is an important part of the project.
“It’s a huge cultural landmark, right? We love the style. It speaks a lot to the culture of the neighborhood,” said Shannon Vezina, an NDG resident.
Vezina said she would also like to see live performances at the temporary site.
“I’d love some live shows. I think that would be kind of cool,” she said.
Other residents suggested creating a greenhouse or community garden.
“I think having some sort of greenhouse would be really cool because I know there’s a greenhouse down the street in Westmount and people really love to go there in the winter. It stays super warm obviously. And growing some sort of community garden, like community food would be really sick,” said Sola Spiegelman, an NDG resident.
An outdoor theatre was another idea raised during the consultation.
“A small outdoor theater would be nice,” said Benoit Tardif, an NDG resident.
“I think it’d be interesting to have an outdoor theater. Because I think the idea of having the facade would make it nice for acoustics because it would block out the street and it would be nice to have that in there,” said David Morales, an NDG resident.
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Teodoresco said the temporary project could also help attract potential partners for the site’s longer-term redevelopment.
“The thing is, while we’re doing this transition, this temporary phase, we’re also making the project more attractive for the next phase because it will de-risk the project for the potential partners that will come in the equation later,” said Teodoresco.
“We want a space for families. We want this to be open and to reflect the creative depth that we have in the community. But we want to work on the details with the community. That’s why we started a bunch of consultative processes,” he said.
Residents can provide feedback through an online survey on the borough’s website until Sept. 20.
An information kiosk will also be set up at NDG Park from Aug. 27 to Sept. 3.
A public consultation is scheduled for Sept. 14 at the park chalet.
Some residents said they were pleased to see activity returning to the long-vacant site.
“Love this building. Glad to see good stuff happening,” said Vezina.
Morales said he would also like to see the inside of the former theatre documented before work begins.
“I think that they should take photos of inside before they destroy it. Because I’ve always wanted to go in there, but I’ve never been able to go,” he said.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2027, with the project expected to take roughly a year to complete.
Teodoresco said the project still has several regulatory milestones to clear, including appearances before the Comité consultatif d’urbanisme, the Comité consultatif de démolition and the Comité du patrimoine de Montréal.
He said the borough is also working with an architectural firm on a final study of professional services before launching a call for tenders for the site’s deconstruction and security work.
