Winnipeg opens curtain on Pantages Playhouse Theatre sale

The City of Winnipeg has placed the Pantages Playhouse Theatre on the market in the hopes someone wants to buy the heritage venue.

On Friday, the city issued a request for proposals to buy the 1,475-seat Market Avenue theatre, which has been acquired and sold by the city twice before in its 104-year history.

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City planning, property and development director John Kiernan said the city hopes the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, another non-profit organization or a private company will take over the historic building, which survives mostly on rentalrevenue.

"The city acquired it through a tax sale.We're not directly in the theatre business. So we're looking at someone who may come in to be a steward of the facility going forward," Kiernansaid.

The former vaudeville theatre is a national historic site and has heritage designations from the city and province.

Heritage Winnipeg supports the idea of placing it in the hands of someone other than the city.

"I've never been a fan of the city owning heritage properties," executive director CindyTugwellsaid.

"Burton Cummings [Theatre] is now owned by a private company. I think it's probably not a bad thing. I think the city really doesn't have the resources or thewherewithalto be able to sustain it."

The city has no plans to sell the theatre to the highest bidder, Kiernan said. The city intends to sell it to a buyer who will operate the venue as a theatre and agrees to preserve its heritage components.

"Price alone may not be the sole determining factor that the city considers in the evaluation of each and every proposal," the city states in its request for proposals to buy the venue.

"Purchase price, anticipated municipal tax revenue, overall development layout, building design and quality, and proposed use of the land and buildings will all be critical factors within the evaluation."

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The city and the Winnipeg Arts Council are buildinga monument to the 1919 Winnipeg General Strikeon the Main Street side of the Pantagesproperty. That is expected to remain following any purchase.

The sale of the building may require council approval, the city notes in its request for proposal.