The Tivoli Theatre proposal has changed, says a lower-city councillor. And on Tuesday, he’ll try to convince his fellow decision makers to vote in favour of it now.

Coun. Jason Farr of Ward 2 says he’s been working with the developer and the community to reach a compromise on the 22-storey condo tower at 108 James St. N. and 111 and 115 Hughson St. N. in the downtown core. Earlier this month, city staff recommended council deny it.

“I worked with the proponent on this,” said Farr, who wouldn't get into specifics. “I worked with staff on this. Some of the things I’ve been hearing from the public since I moved to defer for greater feedback, some of those issues are also addressed.”

Tuesday's public meeting about the proposal is down to the wire, backing council into making a decision on the plan before the 120-day deadline expires.

At issue is the building itself — a city staff report described as too tall, too dense, and out of character for the James North neighbourhood.

Without a decision by April 1, the fate would but out of the city's hands and up to a Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing. The public meeting will be held during planning committee on the morning of Tuesday, March 31. Council will ratify its decision at a special council meeting immediately after.

A meeting about the property was originally planned for March 3, but pushed back for what Farr previously said would be “further community consultation” to forge more agreement between the developer, city staff and the neighbourhood.

When the meeting was pushed back, Farr said he wanted a few more weeks to “engage to a greater extent," so city staff had time to “sit down and iron out” some of the issues with Diamante Investments, developers of the Tivoli project.

Leading up to Tuesday's meeting, the Beasley Neighbourhood Association (BNA) maintained its opposition to the building saying it is too high, and would set a precedent for future development.

"While we want to encourage the redevelopment of vacant lots and surface parking in the Beasley Neighbourhood, we feel strongly that any proposed tall buildings should be designed and massed in such a way that they make a positive contribution to the public realm and fit harmoniously with the surrounding context and skyline," wrote Allison Chewter, co-chair of BNA's planning and development sub-committee, in a post published in Raise the Hammer.

Tuesday's planning meeting starts at 9:30 a.m.

The Tivoli Theatre is 140 years old. Diamante Holdings, owned by Domenic Diamante, bought the theatre for $900,000 last February. He purchased it from the Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble (CBYE), whose CEO is Belma Diamante, Domenic's wife.

The CBYE bought the theatre in 2004 from the Sniderman family, of Sam the Record Man fame, for $2. In June of that year, while the Snidermans still owned the Tivoli, a south-facing wall collapsed inside the building, pushing debris through an exterior wall.

The last time the Tivoli was in use was between 1998 and 2004, when the Snidermans rented the Tivoli to a local theatre company, the Tivoli Renaissance Project.

Later in 2004, the city spent $300,000 to demolish the front portion of the building, which included the original facade that faced James Street North, as well as the long lobby leading into the theatre and the washrooms.

The city granted the CBYE $75,455 in 2009 for building stabilization and heating improvements. It also gave the owners $20,000 in 2008 for a heritage feasibility study to identify potential uses for the property and gauge community interest in the building's restoration. City council also approved a $50,000 interest-free loan — since repaid — to retrofit the theatre's roof in December 2009.