The historic Astor Theatre in Liverpool will undergo a multi-year facelift. (Rick Conrad / File photo)

The building that houses the Astor Theatre in Liverpool will get more than $1 million in upgrades this year, as part of a two-year, $3-million plan to modernize the historic building.

The Region of Queens owns the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre and leases it to the Astor Theatre Society.

Municipal councillors recently approved spending $1,050,000 this year and another $2,079,000 next year to install modern heating and cooling systems, air conditioning and long-delayed accessibility improvements.

Eric Goulden, chairman of the Astor Theatre Society, says he’s excited and grateful that the work is going ahead.

“All of these improvements are needed to update a 125-year-old building to today’s standards. … Most people don’t realize how busy we are and how much it’s needed to have a common point for people to get together and enjoy entertainment, but also learn and experience various crafts and meetings and that sort of thing. The vibe is very positive.

“We’re very, very pleased with the direction that we’re going in. We think that the next two years are going to be very positive for the Astor Theatre and a lot of the improvements that have been long overdue are going to take place.”

The Astor is limited in what it can offer in the warmer summer months, because the facility has only ceiling fans for cooling and air circulation in the theatre.

The region hired DSRA Architecture to detail what the building needs to improve operations and meet modern building codes. 

The region plans to upgrade the facility’s electrical supply and install a modern HVAC system, including heat pumps, that will allow the theatre to maintain comfortable temperatures year-round.

It also plans to install a platform lift so that people with mobility issues can access the second floor.

The washrooms will also be upgraded to comply with provincial requirements for accessibility and universality.

A new fire escape will be installed from the second-floor balcony, which will allow for wheelchair-accessible seating upstairs.

And the backstage area will be expanded by 765 square feet to allow more room for storage, a workshop and dressing rooms.

The architects also said the building’s insulation needs to be upgraded for better energy efficiency and to protect the wood structure from humidity. So far, that has not been included in the planned work.

Goulden says that the upgrades will allow the Astor to offer more to its patrons at any time of year. 

“We can’t do reliable programming in the summertime because of the lack of air conditioning, the lack of proper ventilation in the theatre. So it will give us at least another two months of programming that we can do in the summertime.”

He said the theatre is also shopping for a new movie projector to enhance its film offerings.

“Movies are going to be a big part of our growth. We will probably be the best movie experience on the South Shore.”

Councillors unanimously approved the work.

“I just have to say that I’m excited to see actually a plan for the updates at the Astor,” District 4 Coun. Vicki Amirault said. “It’s been a long time coming. 
So I’m very grateful for it.”

Mayor Scott Christian said the Astor board will continue to look for grants and other funding to try to offset some of the cost for municipal taxpayers.

Representatives from the municipality and the Astor plan to meet early next week to discuss the upgrades.

“I’m really quite excited about the future,” Goulden said. “A lot of good things happening at the Astor.”

Here’s a breakdown of the work planned at the Astor:

Year 1 (2026/27 fiscal year):

• $245,000 – second floor platform lift (six months to install)
• $175,000 – emergency egress from balcony (three months to install)
• $210,000 – electrical upgrades (six months to complete)
• $420,000 – Phase 1 heating and cooling upgrades (six months)

Year 2 upgrades – 2027/28 fiscal year ($2,079,000):

• $1.4 million – backstage addition
• $315,000 – Phase 2 heating and cooling upgrades
• $168,000 – second floor washroom accessibility upgrades
• $196,000 – main floor washroom accessibility upgrades

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Architects will spend the next six weeks assessing what kinds of upgrades are needed at the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, which houses the Astor Theatre. File photo by Ed Halverson

The Region of Queens has hired architects to come up with a plan to modernize the historic Astor Theatre in downtown Liverpool.

DSRA Architecture of Halifax has experience working on heritage buildings such as the Lunenburg Academy, Province House in Halifax and Halifax City Hall. Councillors approved spending $17,500 from the accumulated budget surplus.

The region owns the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, which houses the Astor. The Astor Theatre Society leases it from the region.

The Astor is limited in what kinds of events it can hold, especially in summer and fall, because it does not have a modern climate control system.

It relies on an oil-fired hot water furnace for heat and windows for ventilation.

The building also needs many upgrades to meet provincial accessibility requirements.

Elise Johnston, who is the region’s former accessibility coordinator and now its manager of capital projects, says hiring the architects will kickstart the process to assess the building’s needs. 

“As we know it can be quite stifling hot, especially in the summer,” she told councillors at a recent meeting.

“It’s very uncomfortable. So it affects their operations. It’s a big project. 
We have looked at a few independent reviews and designs, but then that didn’t take into consideration the accessibility (concerns). So if we’re going to do this, we need to do it in a holistic way.”

Johnston told councillors that the region and the Astor have discussed installing a modern HVAC system before, as well as an accessible lift to get to the second floor and a universal washroom. But those projects were discussed in isolation and not part of one overall plan.

She said hiring the architects will help get the necessary work started, “which would be to look at all the applicable codes, all the top priority needs, get some community engagement, and plan the steps forward. The main question is, what is priority, what can come first? 
How do we phase this over a period of time?”

Eric Goulden, chairman of the Astor Theatre Society, told QCCR that the much-needed upgrades could potentially be a multimillion-dollar project.

“All in all, they’re going about it in the right way,” he said.

“It needs an architect. It’s an old building. It requires a significant amount of work to protect its heritage. All good, all very, very good. And great support from the council.”

District 6 Coun. Stewart Jenkins asked whether the region gets any revenue from ticket sales at the Astor. 

Joanne Veinotte, the region’s director of finance, said a portion of each ticket sold goes into a special capital projects fund for the building.

Jenkins said that because the Astor is such a big part of downtown Liverpool, he’d like the region to develop a five-year plan.

“I think we need to do more to preserve this building and make it a viable building moving forward.”

Johnston said this project is meant to do that and to make it “a more revenue-generating building”.

She told councillors the architects plan to begin work immediately with a report back to council in about six weeks.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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The front entrance of the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, home of the Astor Theatre, will be closed for the next two weeks. (Rick Conrad)

The front entrance of the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, home of the Astor Theatre, on Main Street in Liverpool will be closed for the next two weeks.

The Region of Queens is doing some work on the front facade of the building.

The accessible entrance at the rear of the building will be open.

The work was expected to begin on Monday.

Photo Ed Halverson

The sale of 11 acres of municipal land was the highlight of Tuesday’s Region of Queens council meeting.

The only session in August started with a presentation from the Queens Care Building Society providing an overview of the proposed new long-term care home set to replace Queens Manor and Hillsview Acres.

The four members representing the society highlighted the programs the new facility will provide along with one and two-storey options for construction of the new 112-bed structure.

The society’s request to secure municipal land adjacent to Queens Place and the Best Western hotel was granted during the in-camera portion of the meeting when council agreed to sell 11 acres for roughly $960,000.

Some long-standing items that had previously come before council were also approved.

Region staff will get to work crafting a bylaw to allow Queens to collect road levies on behalf of non-profit associations.

Mayor Darlene Norman says staff has assured council they have the capacity to take on the added responsibility using existing resources.

“It only seems right and proper that we help them where we can,” said Norman. “For example, we do not put streetlights on their roads. We do not have personal garbage collection at their doorsteps. So, if we can, as a council, help them improve their roads, then it is the right thing for us to do.”

Council also agreed to a request from the South Shore Regional Hospital Foundation to provide $100,000 for their Brighter Days Capital Campaign.

The money will be the Region’s one-time contribution towards the $115 million redevelopment at the area’s regional hospital which will expand the size of the emergency room and surgical areas, add new dialysis chairs, MRI suite and CT-scanner among other upgrades.

The vote was not unanimous as some councillors argued with the ongoing doctor shortage and frequent ER closures, council should be supporting Queens General first.

Norman says South Shore Regional is just as much Queens’ hospital as Queens General.

“We could give a million dollars to our hospital, and it is not going to help our ER situation at this point in time. Our foundation, the Queens Hospital Foundation, have encouraged us to provide this money to South Shore Regional,” said Norman.

Council also decided to pay between $50,000 and $60,000 to build an accessible ramp at the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre.

The new ramp will be located between the centre and the neighbouring RBC building to provide access from the parking lot into the Astor Theatre lobby.

Council then heard the Region took in just over $300,000 from the sale of 23 properties at the July 18 tax sale.

Approximately $48,000 will go to paying off outstanding debt with the remaining $250,000 or so, being put in the Tax Sale Surplus Reserve Account where previous owners have up to 20 years to claim the proceeds from the sale.

The first quarter financial review indicated the Region will be paying an additional $150,000 for garbage collection this year to cover the increase in fuel costs.

The original estimate was negotiated based on a cost of 89.64 cents per litre and in the past few months, the price of fuel has routinely been a dollar or more per litre above that.

Council was also made aware of human resource changes to the Region’s employee handbook to make the policies more inclusive and in keeping with 2022 standards.

Some of the policies hadn’t been updated in 20 years.

And the planning and development department is looking to increase the fees for some services to better reflect the cost of providing permitting and development amendments.

Council then moved in camera and approved the sale of the lot for the new long-term care facility as well as a piece of property in Milton for a multi-unit housing development.

Council will not meet again until the second Tuesday in September.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
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Photo Ed Halverson

Region of Queens council took their last meeting on the road to the Pleasant River Community Hall.

The highlight of the agenda was council’s decision to invest almost $2 million to repair the failing air conditioning unit at the Liverpool Business Development Centre.

The meeting opened with the public comment section.

A couple of residents spoke asking council to put a pause on the permits to a controversial house being built on Eagle Head Beach while a third inquired about the possibility of adding more bylaw enforcement officers.

After that council went about approving the job descriptions for workers at Hillsview Acres long-term care facility.

The Region is mandated by the province to review the positions every four years.

From there, council voted to go ahead with the $1.9 million plan to install a new four-zone cooling system at the Liverpool Call centre.

Council then moved into the discussion phase of their meeting.

First up was a conversation around installing an accessible ramp at the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre in Liverpool.

Provincial law requires all government owned buildings to be accessible by 2030.

Council deliberated on the placement of the ramp and how it is to be enclosed.

The preferred option seems to be along the side of the building adjacent to the Royal Bank that leads from the rear parking lot.

The plan will be evaluated and brought before council in greater detail at a future meeting.

The last piece of business was a lively discussion on whether or not to form a pool committee.

The Queens Community Aquatic Society recently received a $3 million private donation towards the construction of a new pool and are looking for the region to begin construction as soon as possible.

The conversation revolved around who will make up the committee, what responsibility it will have and what will be asked of staff.

In the end, council decided to form a committee but what it will look like and what role it will play in the construction of a new pool has yet to be determined.

Council will hold a special council meeting Tuesday July 5 to discuss the location of the new library.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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