The owner of the Pantages Theatre (152 East Hastings Street) is still waiting for the city to approve restoration plans for the dilapidated former vaudeville venue. On April 16, the Pantages Theatre Arts Society and owner-developer Marc Williams revealed their $26-million restoration plan for the site, which includes a 650-seat main theatre, a 99-seat black-box theatre and rehearsal space, an art gallery, new lobbies, and elevators. The theatre, which has been vacant since 1994 and was purchased from the City of Vancouver three years ago, will be managed by the nonprofit Pantages Theatre Arts Society and leased from the developer for $1 per year.

As reported in the Straight on January 17, the PTAS launched a campaign earlier this year to press the City into approving the restoration plans. A final decision from City Hall is still pending.

“We’re still waiting for a couple of things: [the municipal office of] cultural affairs to review the business plan and get back to us, and we’re still negotiating with other levels of government,” Peter Fairchild, PTAS president, told the Straight. “We have been silent for the last three years, so this is our way of going out there and saying, ‘Hey, we’re starting to move now, folks.’ ”

The plan is to fund the restoration partly through provincial and federal support, details of which have yet to be released. A $1-million donation to an endowment fund for the operation of the theatre has also been made by an anonymous philanthropist.