Stratford city council approved a zoning change that will allow the county to turn its former archives building into a small theater and event space.
Stratford city council approved a zoning change that will allow the county to turn its former archives building into a small theater and event space.
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City planner Alexander Burnett said during a presentation this week that staff supported the proposal to rezone the property from an institutional community zone that permits a variety of institutional uses, including an auditorium, library, municipal office, place of worship and school, to a site -specific institutional community zone to permit, in addition to the existing uses, an 80-seat theater, theater classroom, performing arts studio, studio, theater retail store, theater restaurant and special event space.
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Most of the questions from council and the public during the process focused on parking in the heritage area that includes the Stratford Public Library, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, the city jail, the Shakespearean Gardens and Stratford intermediate school. The 114-year-old building predates parking by laws, and there are 50 spaces on site.
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Burnett said there are more than 300 parking spaces within a three-minute walk of the building, which should be “adequate” once the theater is operating.
“The expected increase in demand for parking is minor,” he added.
The building at the corner of St. Andrew and Huron streets has been vacant since 2014. Perth County council voted in 2021 to demolish the building, which had mold and asbestos issues, but it was separated the wrecking ball after a meeting between former Stratford mayor Dan Mathieson and then-Perth County warden Jim Aitcheson.
“I’m really glad our (former) mayor Dan Mathieson was going to talk to the county because people in Stratford were pretty upset about thinking we might be losing that building,” Coun. Bonnie Henderson said Monday. “It was really good to see the direction the county was taking.”
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County public works director John McClelland said last month the county was working with a small theater company for the potential long-term reuse of the building, which has also served as a driver’s license bureau and offices for the county’s public health unit.
“We have been sort of looking at other ways we could potentially repurpose the building, so this is an opportunity that has presented itself,” McClelland said in December. “Certainly, if this does go through and everything works out, I can see this as a win on so many different fronts. We’re excited but cautiously optimistic.”
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