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The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Canada’s largest soft-seat theatre, is set to have construction commence in October of 2009 for the Centre’s expansive restoration and renovation program. The theatre will re-open in the fall of 2010, when audiences will be invited to celebrate the Centre’s 50th Anniversary in a revitalized and re-invigorated facility.The theatre, designated a historical site by the City of Toronto, will undergo major renovations and restorations. The project will eliminate a number of architectural interventions added to the theatre over the years, thus restoring the elegance and grandeur of Peter Dickinson’s original O’Keefe Centre, which opened on October 1, 1960. Iconic features such as the theatre’s marquee canopy and York Wilson’s lobby mural “The Seven Lively Arts” will be preserved. Restoration of the wood, brass and marble that were hallmarks of the original facility will be undertaken, along with audience seating and flooring upgrades, new washrooms, re-configured lobby spaces and significant mechanical and electrical system changes.
The renovation will provide visiting entertainers and performers with a fresh and positive experience both backstage and onstage, and provide audiences with an upgraded and enhanced live entertainment experience.
Sony of Canada Ltd., the naming sponsor of the Centre, will further enhance the theatre’s environment by providing state-of-the-art Sony entertainment solutions throughout the venue. In addition to the latest Sony Bravia® panels, visitors can expect to see cutting-edge multimedia technologies like the new Sony Ziris Canvas, a high end feature application where high definition digital content stretches across numerous Sony LCD panels creating a spectacular video wall. This Ziris Canvas will greet visitors as they enter the main foyer of the Sony Centre, and in the north-west corner of the renovated building visitors can explore more Sony technologies in a new Sony Style retail store.
A complex real-estate transaction between the City of Toronto and Ferncastle Developments will provide the funding for the renovation project. Sony Centre C.E.O. Dan Brambilla, who has actively managed the negotiations and completion of the agreement with the developers says “I am very excited that the Sony Centre can benefit from these major improvements and I look forward to the opening of the venue next year, when we can delight our performers and audiences and further contribute to the cultural and commercial fabric of Toronto, Canada and the world. The Sony Centre has hosted many great performances and provided diverse and exciting programming over the past 49 years, and the breadth of these improvements will allow us to provide so much more in the years to come.”
“It’s been a long process and there are many people to thank,” Brambilla says. “Our Board of Directors and Toronto City Council and staff have provided support, our local Councillor Pam McConnell (Ward 28) has been actively engaged and our business and residential neighbours remain enthusiastic and supportive of the project. We’re grateful to all of them.”
Lowe’s, Canada’s New Home Improvement Warehouse, Sony Centre Building Sponsor, will provide select materials for the construction, and Vanbots Construction will oversee the renovation project.
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