The Shaw Festival executive director Tim Jennings presented an updated design of the proposed new Royal George Theatre that will have a “ghost” facade on Queen Street, and more “residential” look along Victoria Street. The new design eliminates about 3,000 square-feet from the proposed building.

The revamped design, said Shaw Festival executive director Tim Jennings, was prompted by listening to criticism from the public and town staff on the original proposal introduced to councillors and the town’s heritage committee in July was too “massive” for the neighbourhood.

“We have made a lot of adjustments based on the (public) feedback,” Jennings said during a virtual presentation Aug. 11 to reporters.

“Hopefully, this version (of the design) will move forward. People seem very excited about it. We are all feeling things have moved in the right direction.”

The “ghost” façade, which will be a standalone structure on Queen Street, will replicate the current Royal George Theatre entrance built around 1979. Jennings said the new exterior will be “reinterpreted” and will reflect the current building’s scale, window openings, moulding and column details.

Jennings said the feature will allow the public to access the new Royal George without installing an accessible ramp since the building will be located at grade. The ramp has been relocated to the interior of the lobby inside the building.

It will allow the new Royal George entrance to be moved back from Queen Street. In between the façade and the entrance will be a small outdoor courtyard with marquee lights and landscaping.

“It both allows us a chance to hold up something that is a historic artifact, but also, it’s a nod to the theatricality. (The façade) leans into the theatre space. We are excited about that,” said Jennings.

In addition, along Victoria Street, the new Royal George Theatre buildings will have pitched or “gabled” roofs, while the rehearsal hall windows will be dropped, allowing for the installation of a bay window so residents can view various theatre activities, such as dance or rehearsal presentations. The delivery bay will now be hidden with a residential-style wrought-iron fence, brick pillars, hedges and other landscaping. The rehearsal hall has also been moved five feet further back from Victoria Street and away from Prideaux Street.

“It will be like having a garage at the back of the property,” said Robin Ridesic, a member of the Shaw Festival board of directors since 2014, who also lives in the neighbourhood and owns and operates The Exchange Brewery on Queen Street.

“I care about this project from many different angles,” said Ridesic.

Architects have also identified several items from the existing buildings, including a pre-1900 beam in the former Angie Strauss house on Victoria Street that might be reused in the new Royal George Theatre, said Ridesic.

The overall project has reduced the proposed theatre’s footprint by about 3,000 square feet. It has meant, said Jennings, cutting down the theatre’s rehearsal space to one smaller than what it uses at the courthouse, scaling down the lobby area by 250 square feet and relocating the multi-purpose room on the second floor to the third floor.

“We have made really good choices,” said Jennings. “(The discussions with town staff) have let us make compromises that we are happy with because it serves the community better. There is nothing we can’t live without.”

In addition, there will be attempts to reduce the impact of the fly tower by incorporating lighter colours, and “greening” the building, said Jennings, to “try and soften things.” But the fly tower will still increase in height by five feet.

Jennings said Shaw officials resubmitted the Royal George Theatre application to the town on Aug. 8 for a rezoning amendment with a theatre specific designation and a heritage impact amendment. The final designs will be provided to the town at the end of August, said Jennings.

Jennings, though, said the design of the new Royal George Theatre will be “fine tuned right up to construction” in its planned design/build process.

“There is time to make some small alterations,” said Jennings. “In terms of the footprint and massing we are hopeful that, while we will listen, we believe we are landing on that basis.”

Considerable public criticism about the initial Royal George Theatre design centred on the proposal being too overwhelming for the neighbourhood, as well as plans to demolish several houses. The Royal George Theatre and the buildings scheduled for demolition are not designated heritage.

The Niagara Foundation said in a recent statement that “greater effort is required to minimize the heritage impact and create a more sympathetic design.”

The foundation suggested changes to the initial design to “reduce and soften” the massing along the Queen Street corridor and ensure the exteriors complement the neighbourhood residents along Queen and Victoria streets. They urged the town to make sure approving the redevelopment of the Royal George Theatre won’t be used as a precedent for future development within the Queen Picton Heritage Conservation District.

The foundation also wanted the development to somehow commemorate the Royal George’s original name, how it was used for soldiers and the history of the theatre in town.

“Maintenance of the existing heritage streetscapes should be the goal,” said the Foundation.

Jennings said the project remains on a tight schedule. If all the applications and permits are approved by council, demolition of the two buildings on Victoria Street would begin in late fall, with preparation for demolition of the theatre occurring in late January, early February 2026 and construction beginning on the new Royal George Theatre in the spring of 2026.

Shaw officials will be hosting a virtual community update on their redesigned Royal George Theatre on Aug. 22 at 1 p.m.

To register for the event visit www.shawfest.com.

By Keven Werner for www.niagarathisweek.com.

Illustration: Artist’s rendering of ne Royal George Theatre.