WSIB Head Office Moving to London - Page 3

Djeffery · #41 Posted **May 2, 2022, 11:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyeman200

I heard that there is already a foundation for another large tower already there. They just never built it, as London didn't require it at the time.

Yes, the foundation is under the southeast side of OLP and according to the model in the picture somewhere back on this site and on the reddit page below, is a slightly smaller tower.

https://www.reddit.com/r/londonontario/c...l_concept_model_of_one_london_place_and/

ssiguy · #42 Posted **May 3, 2022, 6:59 PM**

If they require a new office tower, the best bet would be Citi Plaza.

When the original plans for the development were made, the design was to have a 25 story office tower as part of the complex. The building was built with that in mind {I believe it was the portion on the south side of King} and this is ideal for a new tower.

One of the biggest, most expensive, and most time consuming parts of any high rise is the foundation and the multi-level underground parking. This gets rid of those costly requirements as the foundation is laid and Citi Plaza has 1500 underground parking spots. It also has the added benefit of being part of the covered King Street BRT station which is a big draw when you can take rapid transit and have access to all bus services going to all quadrants of the city and never have to deal with inclement weather.

I they don't require a new building then I think the Royal Bank/Market Square would be ideal. It would require renovations to bring it up to AA standards but that would still be vastly cheaper and faster than building a new tower. Also by renovative a existing buildings, it allows they workers to gradually move to London and fill the space as each floor is renovated. This means the transition from Toronto to London could begin much earlier and would result in a huge amount of empty office space being taken off the market and greatly reducing the downtown office vacancy rate. Added to this as the province is spending money on "mainstreets" to help downtowns recover from COVID it would mean that the horrid street vacant space along Richmond would finally be filled.

For me, renovating the Royal Bank/Market Square is a far superior option than building a new tower. It would not result in as many one-time jobs of building a new tower but the effects on the city would be far more positive both economically and in terms of downtown rejuvenation.

jammer139 · #43 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 2:25 AM**

3M Canada headquarters on Tartan Dr apparently up for sale. Used to accommodate up to 500 employees. Assuming WSIB if they are still looking to move to London that this building and the surrounding land could be a terrific location with easy access to the 401 and plenty of room to grow.

Djeffery · #44 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 2:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jammer139

3M Canada headquarters on Tartan Dr apparently up for sale. Used to accommodate up to 500 employees. Assuming WSIB if they are still looking to move to London that this building and the surrounding land could be a terrific location with easy access to the 401 and plenty of room to grow.

https://london.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2532233

I suspect that the building has a much higher than 500 person capacity as well. Interesting that 3M plans to find a new space in London for a reduced office space when it was only 8 years ago they demolished the 2 floor office attached to their plant at Oxford and Clarke.

ssiguy · #45 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 5:32 PM**

Hopefully they are looking for some downtown space.

Djeffery · #46 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 9:04 PM**

It's also possible they just stay where they are if they sell the building to someone who doesn't need the whole space. And of course, the ever popular Westmount Mall still has the upper Sears floor and the main floor back half of the old Target (although I imagine this space is more suited to retail not office). The story didn't say how big a space they are after though, so who really knows.

jammer139 · #47 Posted **Sep 30, 2022, 9:30 PM**

Since the election there has not been a peep on the WSIB move or any other provincial agency, board, commission relocation. Would be really nice if one of our local reporters/journalists would ask our local MPP's and Minister to provide an update on these moves. Otherwise this was just a pre-election stunt.

Commercial real estate brokers will obviously not be saying anything until a deal is signed if in fact there is active work going on to locate a property.

The news about 3M looking to sell their Tartan Drive Campus is big and it would be an ideal site for the WSIB given easy access to the 401 and plenty of free parking with plenty of green space and a woodlot. The existing office building is quite modern and would only require minor renovations in order to be move in ready. Given the new office work environment is all about telework hotel stations for the few times someone would need to come into the office they might be able to accommodate their entire workforce. Certainly if they wanted to build a new wing there is acres of land on the campus.

City Council would be beyond stupid to deny them that option. If any city politician even suggests that they couldn't build more office space on this campus they should resign on the spot.

Although it would be nice to see them downtown I would have zero issues with them moving into the 3M campus.

Just a reminder they don't provide much in the way of client facing services now-a-days in person. Almost everything now is online, phone or video. So they can easily be located in a suburban setting. In fact I would suspect the employees would much prefer 3M campus to downtown.

Now lets just hope the WSIB move actually happens and it wasn't a pre-election ploy.

Djeffery · #48 Posted **Oct 1, 2022, 12:49 AM**

And also, the WSIB already has an office downtown where they see clients, so this HQ move wouldn't even need that function

ssiguy · #49 Posted **Oct 1, 2022, 4:44 AM**

If the OLC goes ahead with the move, then they will go with a downtown location.

All politicians talk about helping their downtowns to thrive and all levels put a crap load of money into making it happen as well as funding rapid transit expansion which is downtown focused. Moving OLC from Toronto to London is very much a political decision and hence so will the choice of their location and this means downtown. Filling up a suburban office space gets no attention {and probably even a lot of negative feedback from the City & Londoners themselves} while ribbon cutting a new centre in the heart of downtown and proclaiming their commitment to downtown London is a politician's wet dream.

A downtown location, if big enough, would also have the advantage of potentially consolidating more Ontario government services and offices into one central building/complex.

Djeffery · #50 Posted **Oct 1, 2022, 4:46 PM**

I don't recall any banner raising parties going on when the RCMP moved O division here. It was a pretty significant announcement when they first said it, then hardly in the news when it actually happened. As for the WSIB being announced here as a political stunt, well that didn't really work out for them anyway, so let's not be surprised when they don't actually move here.

jammer139 · #51 Posted **Oct 19, 2022, 12:37 PM**

Good news that the WSIB is still looking at space in London.

LFP article

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/wsib...new-head-office-site-in-london-president

jammer139 · #52 Posted **Feb 1, 2023, 1:48 PM**

Interesting info recently in London Magazine.

Of note is the 3M office on Tartan Dr has 135,000 sq feet of office space and it's still on the market. Still no news on the WSIB plans.

3M mum on possible job cuts in London; city presence undergoing radical change

Earlier in the week, 3M Co. announced plans to cut 2,500 jobs globally, primarily in manufacturing, “to further align with adjusted production volumes,” although it has not said whether that will include any of the 1,800 or so workers employed in Canada. In addition to the Canadian headquarters, which employs about 400 office workers, London is also home to 3M’s largest Canadian manufacturing plant on Oxford Street East, where products such as duct tape and sandpaper are made by about 150 employees.

The upshot: Though there’s no clear idea if layoffs will be part of it, the future of 3Ms footprint in town is certainly changing. In September, the global manufacturing giant confirmed that its iconic London headquarters building on Tartan Drive is up for sale, with most of its corporate staff now working remotely (the asking price for the 135,000-square-foot facility has not been disclosed by Toronto-based Cresa, the commercial brokerage handling the listing). That announcement joined news that the company would be spinning off its healthcare business into a separate publicly traded company by the end of 2023. So, for many 3M employees in London, it’s a bit of an anxious game of wait-and-see.

jammer139 · #53 Posted **May 29, 2023, 5:55 PM**

It's practically June of 2023 and still no news on the relocation of the WSIB offices to London. One might wonder if there is actually any activity at all on this?

CTV news video on the 3M property being up for sale. Would make a great home for the WSIB.

https://london.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2532233

Djeffery · #54 Posted **May 29, 2023, 10:38 PM**

It was an election ploy, and we re-elected our 3 NDP members, so I'm sure that plan is long dead. Doug just doesn't to admit it yet

GreatTallNorth2 · #55 Posted **May 30, 2023, 1:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djeffery

It was an election ploy, and we re-elected our 3 NDP members, so I'm sure that plan is long dead. Doug just doesn't to admit it yet

Yes along with the pledge to spend $170 million to upgrade GO in London. What bothers me is that the media and our politicians don't call him out on this. Like, why are they not asking where this investment is??

MrSlippery519 · #56 Posted **May 30, 2023, 2:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

Yes along with the pledge to spend $170 million to upgrade GO in London. What bothers me is that the media and our politicians don't call him out on this. Like, why are they not asking where this investment is??

Lack of accountability, is our biggest problem with politics in general. Does not matter how you vote they should be held to a higher standard of coming through with election promises. In the event they cant fulfill it, at least lay out the reasons and struggles why.

But like you said it just gets forgotten.

Djeffery · #57 Posted **May 30, 2023, 2:55 PM**

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't we only a few months away from the end of the 2 year GO Train committment? Any idea how this thing is doing? Honestly, I would be surprised if it was doing well enough to convince the government to invest in higher speeds for it to even give it a fighting chance (along with actual useful times).

jammer139 · #58 Posted **Jun 3, 2023, 2:15 PM**

CTV story on possible movement with the 3M property by WSIB.

https://london.ctvnews.ca/when-wsib-move...nt-will-the-office-be-downtown-1.6425746

jammer139 · #59 Posted **Jun 14, 2023, 2:07 PM**

Another article mentioning the 3M property and WSIB.

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/London-Inc--Weekly.html?soid=1127483461864&aid=CKBt7x5yH2M

jammer139 · #60 Posted **Sep 7, 2023, 12:26 PM**

LFP article on WSIB move to London.

Appears that they will go ahead with the move to the 3M site on Tartan Dr and bring 500 jobs with them.

Article has quotes from a number of people discussing their opinions on why downtown was not chosen. The funniest being Farhi claiming it will cost WSIB more to go to the 3M site then downtown.

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/wsib...n-for-london-disappointment-for-downtown