Plans to renovate the Verdun auditorium will finally be moving forward with work slated to begin in May.
After years of waiting, it seems residents are about to see big improvements that they say are sorely needed on the 80-year-old building.
“The fact that the project is moving forward, and that we’re talking about bringing concerts is amazing,” Verdun City Coun. Sterling Downey tells Global News.
Plans include an expansion of the facilities with conditioning and workout facilities for the players. It means the parking lot will have to be reduced. Other improvements are being done with the safety in mind.
“This building doesn’t have sprinkler systems so the new roof will have a sprinkler system,” Downey explains.
But not all is lost. The old wooden benches will be kept intact and the façade will be stripped down and restored to the original brick, an effort to preserve the building’s history.
But users won’t be the only ones who benefit from the facelift.
“The shows too that we’re going to do and the concerts are going to benefit the main street in Verdun which is Wellington Street,” Downey points out. “It’s gonna help our economy, it’s gonna help our businesses, it’s gonna draw traffic, it’s gonna bring life back to Verdun.”
The cost for the entire project is $42 million, with the borough of Verdun contributing $12 million, the city of Montreal $29 million, and $1 million from the provincial government.
They expect to have the work finished in a year-and-a-half.
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