The president of Renegade Productions Inc., Jim Buckshon, is breathing a sigh of relief after city officials backtracked on a threat to shut down his Southeast False Creek facility on April 7.

In a phone interview with the Straight, Buckshon said that at a meeting at City Hall, he was given two weeks to present architectural plans to address safety issues identified by an inspector.

“They worked through solutions,” he stated. “It was an upbeat meeting. Cultural services [staff] showed up and came up with some good suggestions.”

Renegade Productions provides 27,000 square feet of production and rehearsal space in the former Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company building at the corner of Main Street and East 2nd Avenue. It’s been used by many Vancouver musicians, including Dan Mangan, Said the Whale, Hey Ocean!, and Yukon Blonde. Next week, The Book of Mormon travelling show has booked space for rehearsals. Theatre Under the Stars is scheduled to be there in the summer.

“Bryan Adams just did preproduction here,” Buckshon said. “A lot of the plays that go into the theatres are rehearsed in our place and they use our props.”

He explained that the original occupant, Watson Gloves, consolidated three buildings on the site, creating one central entrance and several fire exits in the rear. Buckshon said that he suggested a “simple fix” to the city of adding two more doors at the front. In addition, officials want a better barrier in front of a room full of thousands of props, which are being held in place by chicken wire. (The Renegade Arts Company takes care of the now-defunct Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company’s vast prop collection and rents it out to local productions.)

“It should have a solid door on it,” Buckshon acknowledged.

He revealed that Renegade Productions’ fire-detection sensors are “very sensitive”, and he was able to assure fire-safety officials at the meeting that the entire system—including sprinklers, extinguishers, and exit lights—is all working properly.

“I produced not only the orders, but the receipts for having them done,” Buckshon said.

The landlord, Beedie Development Corp., has a demolition clause in the lease, which would provide Renegade Productions with one year’s notice. Buckshon said that this clause hasn’t been exercised, though he expects that the site will eventually be redeveloped into condominiums.

Renegade Productions moved into the facility in 2011 as a subtenant to the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company. When the Playhouse ran into serious financial trouble the following year, later going under, Buckshon’s company took over the rest of the space.

“We asked them if they were in compliance with all the city’s zoning and bylaw permits, because we didn’t want to move into a building that was a problem,” Buckshon said. “They said they were and they put it in writing.”