Answer Man: Interest in former Odeon Theatre picking up since arts centre announcement

Dear Answer Man,

Do you have any idea why the former movie theater site at 6th & Victoria has been vacant for so many years?

MICHAEL GORMAN

Dear Michael,

A timely question, indeed. As it happens, interest in the former Odeon theatre has picked up in the past week since the announcement that the Hotel 540 across Sixth Avenue is pitching the idea of building a performing arts theatre that would be attached to the hotel.

Tracy Moffett of Royal LePage Westwin Realty, who currently has the co-listing with Jeremy Reid of Remax, says the asking price is $949,900, down from $1.4 million a few years ago.

The building has more than 13,00 sq. ft. and is zoned for multiple uses including cultural, broadcasting, recreation, multi family and nightclub.

A similar question to yours was asked of the Readers’ Reporter at the Kamloops Daily News in November, 2011.

The building has been empty since 2001 and has been listed by its Vancouver owners with numerous real estate companies ever since. When KDN researched it in 2011, tentative plans were being made for a mini mall.

There were once three theatres in the building but a covenant won’t allow theatres there anymore. Moffett says the theatres were filled with dirt to level out the floor because potential buyers couldn’t visualize other uses the way it was. The silver metal façade on the outside was added “as lipstick” soon after it closed as a cinema in an attempt to add some curb appeal.

“We’ve had lots of activity” since the Hotel 540 announcement, said Moffett but one limiting factor is its lack of parking.

“The way the downtown core has gone there seems to be a little more activity.”

ANSWER MAN

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