building was a film location for the 1990 film "Queen of Mean". On June 18, 1986, the City of Toronto attempted to buy out the lease for the Palais Royale for $82,500, the price at which the property was valued in 1922. The Polish National Union claimed it had spent $236,697 on repairs to the building and refused the offer. In June 1987, the City began legal action to retain control of the property, a process which ended with a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal on March 28, 1994 which terminated the lease on April 16, 1999. In 1988 a feature film entitled Palais Royale was released, set and filmed in the nightclub. The Property was leased to Shoreline Entertainment in 2000, on the condition that repairs and renovations be made to the hall. Shoreline transferred the lease to the Pegasus Group in 2005. The Group spent $3.5 million on renovations, gutting the interior, replacing the windows and rebuilding the rear terrace. Described by Den Farnworth of Goldsmith Borgal Architects as "it's not a true restoration, it's more an adaptive reuse", the renovations attracted some controversy. In September 2006, the Palais Royale hosted its official Grand Re-Opening, and the house band for the evening was the stellar Toronto All-Star Big Band, composed of young performers from around Ontario. This band is reminiscent of the Goodman, Miller, and Shaw era of swinging dance tunes and is fronted by one of Toronto's finest vocal groups, the TABB-5. Controversies Critics of the renovation denounced the new design for its destruction of major architectural elements and inept approximation of historical stylings. Detractors claim the new design uses many contemporary elements which are anachronistic on a building of the Art Deco era. Supporters tout the security of its contemporized design, one more likely to attract paying customers and ensure future maintenance, and ultimately, the existence of the structure. In addition to the design controversy, a controversy erupted over the restoration of the facility's parking lot, which was removed in 1965 and replaced by grass and willow trees, which had grown to mature height in the meantime. Local groups opposed the removal of the trees to repave the parking lot and opposed paving a new parking lot, proposing on-street parking. After public consultations, the City of Toronto has since paved a new parking lot for the hall across the street on former Amusement Park