Prospective buyers get a look at Thunder Bay's Lyceum Theatre

About a dozen parties were scheduled to inspect Thunder Bay’s Lyceum Theatre building on Wednesday afternoon, after the elimination of the minimum bid requirement brought more interest in the property.

The owner of the building, which operated decades ago as a theatre before being converted into office and retail space, had been delinquent on taxes, which made it possible for the city to put it up for public auction.

The city put the building, located on North Cumberland Street, up for a tax sale earlier this year with a minimum price tag of $115,000 to cover all outstanding taxes. However, that also meant it was sold as-is and there was no opportunity to enter and see the building.

There were no takers at that point and since then the city has taken outright ownership and done some work to mitigate damage caused by a deteriorated roof.

It recently issued a request for proposals and invited prospective buyers to view the building, with a deadline for proposals of June 18.

“The building is in overall structurally-sound condition,” said Joel DePeuter, manager of realty services for Thunder Bay. “There's been some damage to the roof, on the rear portion of the building, so the city has gone in and cleaned up some of the water and has taken some remedial measures.”

DePeuter said that the city would prefer that any buyer restore it in a way that retains its architectural heritage.

Coun. Larry Hebert, a member of the Heritage Advisory Committee,  said he does not want to see the Lyceum turned into a parking lot and would specifically like to see the facade protected.