Lansdowne cinemas threaten historic Mayfair

A 1932 heritage theatre saved from the brink last November will be forced to close if a plan to build a 10-screen cinema at Lansdowne Park goes ahead.

"It'll kill us. No question about it," said filmmaker Lee DeMarbre, one of four Ottawa cinema enthusiasts who saved the Mayfair from closure a year ago.

DeMarbre said the theatre in Old Ottawa South, just across the Bank Street bridge from Lansdowne Park, does show some independent films, but relies heavily on revenues from the same types of Hollywood movies that would be shown at Lansdowne under a redevelopment plan that city council could approve in November.

"I just don't know how to run that cinema if there's 10 theatres opening up across the street," DeMarbre said.

The Mayfair, a Spanish Revival-style theatre built in 1932, received a heritage designation in October 2008. It was slated to close for good in November of that year, but DeMarbre and three other film industry professionals secured a long-term lease with the building's owner to keep it operating as a theatre. It reopened in early 2009.

The construction of the Lansdowne Park cinemas, along with shops, restaurants, townhouses and condominium towers, is part of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan brought forward by the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group.

The last of a series of open houses on the plan took place at the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orléans on Tuesday.

Lots of support for Lansdowne plan: mayor

Mayor Larry O'Brien was among those present.

"Tonight, certainly there's a lot of people out there that seem to like this plan a lot," he said. "I've heard four or five times tonight, as I've been walking through, just get on with it, just get 'er done."

During the question and answer session Tuesday, some people publicly expressed their support.

One woman, who said she "loved" the proposal, added that "if Coun. Clive Doucet and his gang doesn't want it in their backyard, Orleans wants it."

Doucet, whose ward includes Lansdowne Park, has been one of the plan's vocal critics.

There were some critics in the crowd Tuesday also, including one woman who questioned why the project was being "controlled by private hands."

Public consultations will continue online until Monday.