Nearly three years after being slated for demolition, the former land registry office and Perth County archives building is getting a new lease on life.

Here For Now, a small theatre company in Stratford, is taking over the historic building at 24 St. Andrew St., with plans to renovate and transform the location into a micro-theatre space.

“For us, it’s the perfect venue because we have space downstairs to have green rooms and dressing rooms and storage. And then upstairs, it’s perfect – there’s a perfect space for a little black box theatre and a little lobby and a couple of bathrooms,” said Here For Now artistic director Fiona Mongillo, who founded the company in 2012.

In December 2021, Peth County council determined the building, which was built in 1919 and had been vacant since 2014, was surplus to its needs, so council voted unanimously to demolish it. However, intervention by former mayor Dan Mathieson helped prevent that from happening and, late last year, the county said it was looking to establish it as a theatre and event space.

On Monday, it was officially announced the theatre company will take over the building, becoming Here For Now’s home for at least the next 15 years. Although it has mould and asbestos issues, the building is structurally in great shape, Mongillo said.

“Structurally, it’s very sound. We are going to be putting on a new roof almost immediately, and then we’re going to be doing some asbestos abatement and, you know, cleaning it up and all that kind of stuff. So there certainly is substantial work that needs to happen, and it needs to happen now before the building starts to deteriorate. But right now, the bricks are in fantastic shape and the walls are in great shape,” she said.

Although she was unable to give a cost figure for the move, Here For Now has received some grants that will be announced a later date and is “well on its way” in terms of funding, Mongillo said.

Perth County Warden Rhonda Ehgoetz called the move a win-win for both parties, noting the building is in a historical part of the city close to the Stratford’s library and courthouse.

“It’s great to see an old building that can be revitalized for something and that’s still got a purpose and a use,” she said.

As the small company does very intimate cast-focused shows with minimal technology, the new 60-seat theatre will not change the focus of what they do, managing director Siobhan O’Malley said.

“Having a little tiny space like this is exactly perfect … It’s really about the actors in the story that’s being told we will have in this new space, the capacity for a little bit more tech than we have currently. But we’re never going to become a theatre company that does big, flashy shows for big audiences. We keep things small and intimate,” added O’Malley, noting the new venue will also give the troupe a chance to do things like workshops and readings of plays throughout the year.

It will also allow the company, which has mainly produced summer shows in outdoor venues, to perform year-round, Mongillo said.

“We’ve been having to pack our season into a summer schedule because we’re often outside or we’re in a rented space. So just from a fiscal perspective, it’s the only way we have been able to operate so far. But we are planning to expand our season to four seasons. So instead of just producing six or eight or 10 plays in the summer season, we’ll be producing plays all year,” she said.

While the company is looking to move into the space next spring or early summer, it does have a full slate of shows set for the year. These include: Paul and Linda Plan a Threesome by Jane Cooper Ford (June 19-July 6), 12 Dinners by Steve Ross.(July 10-27), The Saviour by Deirdre Kinahan (July 31-Aug. 16), With Love and a Major Organ by Julia Lederer (Aug. 21-Sept. 7), and Dinner with the Duchess by Nick Green. (Sept. 11-28).

By Bill Atwood for www.stratfordbeaconherald.com.