Tom Durrie, founder of the Save the York Theatre Task Force and former manager of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, got a shock August 27 when he looked out his window and saw workmen entering the York Theatre, more recently known as the Raja Theatre, and removing pieces of its interior. “A truck pulled up and guys were going in and out with masks on and loading, carrying things out, and throwing them in the truck,” Durrie recalled in a phone conversation with the Straight. “I went down and said, ”˜What’s going on?’ And they were removing Gyproc, walls, and all that. They said, ”˜Oh, it’s preparation for demolition.’ ”

After a series of phone calls between members of the task force and the city, a stop-work order was issued by city hall. “The developer was starting to do some of the demolition work inside and they didn’t have a permit to do that,” Jacquie Gijssen, senior cultural planner for the City of Vancouver, confirmed in a phone call with the Straight. “That’s where the stop-work order came from.”

According to Durrie, a well-known developer is negotiating to purchase the theatre from its current owner, Vintage Development Corp., and restore the venue. “The developer on our side, and I can’t tell you who it is”¦will fund the entire project, the purchase and restoration of the theatre,” he said. Currently, said Durrie, the developer is in negotiations with the city for density transfer credits in exchange for restoring the building.

The Straight attempted to reach Paul Phillips, president of Vintage, but was told he was out of town.