Empire Granville 7 Cinemas closed in late 2012 and the building has since been empty | City of Vancouver

Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership has applied to the City of Vancouver for permission to alter the Empire Granville 7 Cinemas complex, which closed in November 2012 and has been empty since.

The changes would include adding 27,011 square feet of retail space in the basement and at street level at 855 Granville Street.

The architectural firm’s application is also to transform the space to include 29,784 square feet of general office space on the site’s second and third floors.

The building is a municipally designated heritage B/ heritage C commercial building, according to the city. Under the site’s DD zoning, however, the changes that Musson Cattell wants to make are “conditional,” according to the city. That means that they are permitted but that they require an approval from the director of planning.

The move to alter the building was not unexpected, given that Business in Vancouver reported earlier this month that rumours were swirling both about redevelopment plans for the former theatre.

BIV also foresaw changes to the 90,000-square-foot Tom Lee Music building, which is one block south on Granville Street.

Tom Lee Music confirmed last week that in April it plans to move out of the first three floors of its longtime home at 929 Granville Street and into smaller space at the Vancouver Centre building at the corner of Georgia and Granville streets.

gkorstrom@biv.com



@GlenKorstrom

