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York Theatre gets the density save it needs

December 18th, 2008 · 10 Comments

I just passed through city hall briefly, where there was a lot of crying and hugging going on in the aftermath of council’s unanimous decision to give the York Theatre whatever it needs to cover all the renos it needs to be functional  — that will be not just density bonusing, but also maybe cash from various culture/capital funds and other incentives.

Some might have thought the vote was a given, what with former councillor Jim Green lobbying for it. But I had a hard time getting a read on what was going to happen in advance of the meeting and others did too, including the anonymous developer (Bruno Wall) who is offering to buy the theatre and reno it exchange for the density.

That went against the staff report, which said only give enough bonus density to cover a third of the needed renos and let the York Theatre fans raise the rest in donations.

York supporters were saying that would be pretty much the death knell of the 1913 building. It looks like councillors believed them. It was a unanimous vote. Now, the anonymous developer just has to actually buy the building now from the current owner, who was going to tear it down to build townhouses.

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