It’s hard to miss it on Notre-Dame. The Cartier Theatre has been home to stage shows, nightclubs and more. Nowadays, it’s home to nothing.
“It’s really sad, it’s really unfortunate,” said Laurence Clavet, who regularly walks past the decrepit building.
The doors are boarded up, lights on the marquee are shattered, and the inside is in complete disarray.
“It’s in need of serious renovations,” says building owner Edouard Elkaim.
For about a decade now, people have been hoping it would get a new lease on life. There really hasn’t been any news until a few days ago, when the Cartier Theatre popped up for sale on Kijiji for $2 million. The ad has since been removed.
“$2 million is the asking price, and that’s what we want to sell it for,” Elkaim told Global News. “We did give a mandate to an agent who did his job and advertised it wherever he thought it was appropriate. Kijiji is a good place to advertise as well.”
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“It’s on the high end, because of the work that has to be done in there,” said real estate agent Naomi Faraj, who has clients who have looked into buying the building.
She believes one reason the building is still sitting empty is because of red tape from the city.
“People are looking at it right now for restaurants and bars and different kinds of theatres, but it’s very difficult to get permits,” she told Global News.
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Elkaim says the city has not been an obstacle to any sale.
“So far, the city has been very accommodating,” the owner told Global News. “No permits have been submitted so far for any specific use. They’re open to something that would be good for the community here.”
He says there have been offers for the building over the years, but they have all faced roadblocks. Some potential buyers have realized the renovations would be too costly, or that the space would just be too big for them to handle. Elkaim says the building hasn’t been his priority either, he’s been focusing on other projects. He also owns the popular Griffintown restaurant, Grinder.
Though the city has restrictions on putting new restaurants on Notre-Dame, they are willing to make an exception for the right project for the Cartier Theatre.
“If it’s a project that’s going to benefit the community, obviously we would consider it,” said city Coun. Craig Sauvé.
Faraj says the process of changing the zoning turns people off. Sauvé says nobody has actually asked.
“I haven’t been approached by anybody who wanted to change the zoning or get a permit,” he told Global News.
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Elkaim says he will soon begin renovating the building himself.
“We’re going to go to the city probably this week for a permit. We have to present something that is acceptable for them,” he said.
He says the former marquee will be upgraded, and the inside will undergo a complete overhaul.
“We have a lot of renovation to do: plumbing, electricity, gyprock, some partitions, the heating system, roofing,” he told Global News.
Everyone in the neighbourhood we spoke to wants it to become a cultural space again.
“It would be great if it had live theatre, comedians maybe,” said Stephanie Henry, who works right next to it.
“Just a normal movie theatre would be cool,” said Bianca Alain as she walked past.
Sauve has a few favourite ideas of his own.
“I would personally love to see a repertory cinema, or actual stage theatre there, or another music location,” he told Global News.
Though Elkaim says he would gladly sell it to a buyer who would revive it as a cultural space, he believes at this point, it will likely become a retail space.
“Could be a mini market, you could have all kinds of artisans inside. That’s what I believe the neighbourhood needs and what the people want here. To have a place where they can meet, have a little coffee shop, shop for all kinds of things, something that’s going to be convivial,” he told Global News.
He thinks at 7,000-square feet, the space is just too much for one buyer to take on. If nobody buys it as is soon, he envisions adding a second floor and dividing it up to attract different retailers.
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