Edmonton’s Roxy Theatre owners lose court dispute over construction
Posted March 5, 2025 1:49 pm.
Last Updated March 5, 2025 8:40 pm.
Nearly a decade after a fire destroyed the Roxy Theatre west of Edmonton’s downtown. Its rebuild is still not complete.
One wall is at the centre of a legal dispute. The owners of the 124th Street Theatre have lost a legal challenge to access their neighbour’s property, to finish the construction.
The open wall is an eyesore on an otherwise complete building.
Those who live in the area, want to see the construction finished — saying the theatre is an iconic part of the neighbourhood.
But the construction dispute made it all the way to Court of King’s Bench, with a judge saying the owners of the Roxy Theatre have no legal right to access the neighbouring property to finish the job. Additionally, while it is unfortunate, it should have been accounted for when the lot was empty before construction.
The case has been dismissed. In an email to CityNews, Jared Tabler, the president of the board that runs the Roxy says, “We are disappointed by the recent ruling on our application for access to complete our south wall, but are committed to working with our neighbours, partners, and contractors to find a solution to complete the exterior of the Roxy.”
Theatre organizers say they’ll be looking at how to move forward. The theatre was opened as a movie theatre in the 30s but later converted into a live performance venue in the late 80s. Fire completely destroyed the building in 2015, but was later rebuilt and re-opened in 2022.
CityNews reached out to lawyers representing the company that owns the building next door, lawyers, and the owner were unwilling to comment.
