In Stanstead, in the portion of the Estrian village formerly known as Rock Island, the former local cinema, the Border Theater, will benefit from $2.1 million from Ottawa to become a new cultural hub .
Far from the appearance of the original building, the projected envelope has a futuristic air. The Théâtre Sans Frontières will replace the Border Theater, which closed its doors in the 1970s. It will be planted between old granite buildings, in a city center that this investment promises to revitalize.
“In this new place there will be cinema, but also music, dance, theater. All kinds of events. People in the community and surrounding areas will be able to benefit from it, as will anyone who wants to,” said Gabriel Safdie, founding director of the Stanstead Arts Center (CAS), in an interview with The duty.
Planned renovations include the development of a mezzanine, the installation of a retractable screen for the presentation of films and the addition of 320 seats to the auditorium. The building’s electrical and mechanical systems will be modernized “to ensure efficient and sustainable operation of the building,” details a press release issued Friday.
Currently, the cultural programming offered by the CAS is mainly deployed at the city’s Stone Circle, as well as at the emblematic Haskell Opera Hall, located on the Canadian-American border.
In this village of around 3,000 souls, Mr. Safdie does not believe that the new theater project will overshadow the opera hall, and vice versa. “We work in collaboration with them,” he assures, adding that it is better to have “more places of this type in Stanstead than fewer”.
Asked about the project timeline, Gabriel Safdie did not want to provide details on this subject.
With Jean-François Nadeau