Restore a theatre… revive a neighbourhood
The 100-year-old Pantages theatre will be restored to her former glory, a 650-seat main theatre, a 99-seat black box theatre/rehearsal space, an art gallery, new lobbies and elevators.
On 3 March 2008, the Pantages Business Plan was submitted to the City by owner and developer Marc Williams, detailing the expected costs of the $26 million restoration.
The restoration will be partly financed by bonus density transfers to a site elsewhere in the City, and by provincial and federal support, details of which are currently being negotiated.
In addition, a $1 million Endowment Fund donation by local philanthropist, who believes in the vision of renewal and hope for the Downtown Eastside, will go towards the day-to-day running of the theatre once it is restored.
The theatre will be managed by the non-profit Pantages Theatre Arts Society (PTAS), leased from the developer for $1 per year.
Eighty per cent of the time The Pantages Theatre will be a rental house. The theatre will also have three resident companies, with the balance of available time reserved for their productions.