[ScreamingViking]

Other Spec stories referred to the Lyric/Century as the only other existing old theatre. That came down years ago.


‘Get a roof back onto it’: Heritage subcommittee rejects pitch to demolish Tivoli
Developer says incorporating the building into its plans isn’t feasible due to years of deterioration.

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...257378ed5.html

Teviah Moro
The Hamilton Spectator
Nov. 13, 2024

A highrise developer’s pitch to demolish what’s left of a treasured but badly weathered downtown Hamilton theatre has stumbled on its first hurdle.

In a 6-0 vote Tuesday, the heritage permit review subcommittee rejected Aventus Developments’ application to raze the Tivoli’s heritage auditorium.

Aventus maintains incorporating the building into its plans isn’t feasible, citing a report that outlines a litany of problems, including asbestos, water damage, decaying plaster, worn bricks, deteriorating clay tiles and a rickety roof.

The original plan was to integrate the auditorium into an “iconic building” of two highrise towers connected by a “sky bridge,” planning consultant Edward John told the subcommittee.

But 18 months of study have revealed “challenges at every turn,” the product of the years that the vacant building languished without heating and cooling, making its incorporation “untenable,” he said.

The condition of the auditorium, which backs onto Hughson Street North, should have been apparent to Aventus when it bought the property two years ago, subcommittee chair Graham Carroll argued.

Restoring it will be expensive, he acknowledged.

“I do not deny that, but if you put the effort into it, you can fix it. Get a roof back onto it; get some heat on it; stop the deterioration right now, and then look at your plan for how do you fix the interior.”

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