City of Hamilton issues unsafe order at former King Street West theatre
The building owner wants to restore the marquee sign at 434 King St. W. as part of mixed-use plan for the site.
https://www.thespec.com/news-story/9...-west-theatre/
The city has issued an unsafe order at a former King Street West theatre after wind gusts knocked bricks from its parapet wall onto its marquee sign.
The building owner said he hopes to repair the marquee, which juts out over the sidewalk, as part of his $5-million plans to restore the theatre and proceed with a mixed-use development at the site.
The sidewalk outside the building — between Pearl and Locke streets — and the curb lane of King were closed to traffic and pedestrians Monday and will remain so until the sign is removed or stabilized, said John Lane, city manager of building inspections.
The owner has to remove the sign or provide a professional engineer's report to prove the "structural sufficiency" of it, he said in an email.
The order calls for action to be taken "immediately."
"The Building Division will continue to monitor this situation to ensure the public is prevented from accessing the sidewalk and curb-lane as well as ensuring the property owner fulfils his obligations as outlined in the Inspector's Order to Comply," he said in an email.
Harry White said he acquired the site about a year-and-a-half ago after helping the previous owners with general maintenance and building repairs.
He said he's happy to take the marquee down as long as the city will issue a permit to put it back up again.
White said plans for the sign had been held up by the now-cancelled LRT project as the building is on the planned route and he was waiting on the necessary approvals to proceed.
But it's his desire to restore the marquee "to some grandeur."
"It's kind of a little dark stretch here in this part of Strathcona, and everybody's just sort of racing for the 403, so we thought maybe we could brighten up this little piece of the street."
He said he hopes to have the engineer's report in place early in the new year.
Lane said the city's call centre notified a building inspector about the sign early Monday.
After arriving at the site, the inspector determined the damage was likely caused by years of chain pressure as the marquee sign has three heavy duty chains that extend from the sign to the parapet, Lane said.
On Tuesday, Lane said the owner had removed bricks from on the top of the marquee and installed temporary steel columns at the front corners of the sign as an extra precaution.
The King Street West structure started its life as the Kenmore Theatre in the 1920s before becoming the CHCH-TV telecentre. It later became the Westside Concert Theatre, a live-performance venue, and the Lyric Theatre.
New plans for the 434 King St. W. site — dubbed "The House Theatre" — include restoring the theatre and adding a retail/café space, residential units and "hot desks" (or shared work spaces).
"Our goal is to bring one of Hamilton's oldest entertainment venues back to life with live entertainment while also being a great venue for community groups, arts organizations, multimedia productions, private functions and tradeshows as well as exciting new hospitality and retail opportunities in the building's former lobby," says the website for the project by Lyrical Investments Inc.
There will also be short-term furnished rental units for working artists, musicians and travelling acts who require accommodations, the site says.
The website says a formal consultation and design review panel with the city are complete and next steps include site plan approval and building permits.
White said he hopes to have them in place by spring with a tentative targeted grand opening for New Year's 2021-22.
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