London Construction - Development News Thread #1

[worldwide]

yea! fast track that sprawl

[flar]

London's urban area (well suburban ) has been expanding at an alarming rate, all out of proportion to the actual population growth. Just a few years ago there was nothing along Fanshawe Park Rd. except around Richmond to Adelaide. Now there are big boxes and power centres along the whole thing. Same in the southwest area. It's real sprawl too, development is very haphazard and intermittent. They really do need to put the clamp on further expansion and fill in some of the holes. Many of these areas will be very difficult to serve with public transit and it takes way too long to get downtown from these areas even by car.

[GreatTallNorth2]

Is it just me or does "SmartCentres" not build the dumbest developments around? If you have been to their centre in Hyde Park, you will have to say that it is the most pedestrian unfriendly places around. They should have built the development close together and put the parking around it so people could walk to the stores. Instead you find yourself driving from store to store.

[flar]

^^The Smart Centres and Power Centres are like that everywhere. There are already 7 of these things built or under construction in Hamilton with two more proposed and two others already built in Burlington. All of them are nearly identical and I would imagine the ones in London are about the same too. Good luck revitalizing downtowns anywhere with all this new retail being built.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

Is it just me or does "SmartCentres" not build the dumbest developments around? If you have been to their centre in Hyde Park, you will have to say that it is the most pedestrian unfriendly places around. They should have built the development close together and put the parking around it so people could walk to the stores. Instead you find yourself driving from store to store.

I refer to them as Dumbcentres. I live very close to the one in Hyde Park; close enough to walk. But I don't walk, due to the pedestrian-unfriendly design. Bad enough the stores are scattered across hectares of space. Worse still are the numerous 'roads' that must be crossed (this is another area that is dumb in design, from a driver's perspective), and the aggressive drivers that drive on these internal roads.

London is at the forefront of de-densification.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

Is it just me or does "SmartCentres" not build the dumbest developments around? If you have been to their centre in Hyde Park, you will have to say that it is the most pedestrian unfriendly places around. They should have built the development close together and put the parking around it so people could walk to the stores. Instead you find yourself driving from store to store.

Yeah, it's horrible, I took a bus up to Future Shop once and had to walk through expanses of mud to get to and from the bus stop. It is a horrible design. I rarely ever venture up to that power centre because it is way too far out of the way and it is too inconvenient to get from store to store. I am downtown often enough that I do some shopping there.

And yes, the drivers on the internal roads at the Hyde Park centre are extremely aggressive. They're probably trying to make up for the lost time making their way northward on Hyde Park Road, now one of the most congested two-lane roads in London from my experience.

[QuantumLeap]

This is an application that the city is considering for a 6-floor building on the NORTH side of Dundas Street at English, across from the larger development currently proposed on the South side.

REVISED - 744-748 Dundas Street - The proposed amendment is to permit the construction of a 6-storey mixed use residential/commercial building with an increase in the permitted density of the site to allow 53 residential units and 6 commercial units, a reduction in the minimum front yard depth, and increase the maximum lot coverage. Possible amendment to the Zoning By-law Z.-1 FROM a Business District Commercial Special Provision (BDC(19)-D250-H46) Zone which permits a broad range of commercial uses and residential uses (restricted to the rear portion or above of the ground floor) TO a Business District Commercial Special Provision Bonus (BDC(_)-B-(_)) Zone to increase the permitted density of the site, reduce the minimum front yard depth, and increase the maximum lot coverage. In the alternative, Council may also consider an amendment to the Zoning By-law Z.-1 TO a Business District Commercial Special Provision (BDC(__)-D610-H46) Zone to increase the permitted density of the site, reduce the minimum front yard depth, and increase the maximum lot coverage.
File: Z-7544 Planner: Michael Tomazincic

[worldwide]

well now that is great news. the development seems like exactly what london needs more of. human scaled density with street fronting retail to help revive one of london's main streets.

any word on what the actual site coverage/setbacks will be?

i'd like to see more of this on richmond and other main roads near the core.

[Skorji]

Yeah, Wellington St. South of the tracks needs it. Most of that stretch between the tracks and the river are in pretty bad shape. It is also the city's main artery.

[MolsonExport]

I think that London's city planners look towards the 905 area as an urban model, rather than say, more concise urban fabrics like those found in Europe.

[RickRobs]

Tue, July 15, 2008

By AM980

London could be getting a freeway in the east end over the next 20 years.

It's actually a big extension of Veterans Memorial Parkway that got the approval of a city committee last night.

Officials suggested a four-lane expansion, a northern extension and new interchanges.

The cost would be about $230 million.

Chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee Cheryl Miller tells AM980 the city is thinking long-term and showing some vision.

There's still no word when construction would begin.

The proposal must first go to the planning committee and then full city council. If it passes, the project would be included as part of the city's official plan.

There's still the issue of acquiring all necessary land, as well. At this point, city officials say they've got about 70% of what they need to work with.

For the latest local coverage, read The London Free Press on the web or in print.

[MolsonExport]

Weird. Hope that it is better than the aborted pseudo-freeway blip that is Highbury Ave.

[GreatTallNorth2]

It probably will be a proper freeway, but if the city wants to build a ring road, they will have a long way to go. Think about this...they said they want this built in 20 years. If that is the case, we won't have a full ring road system for probably 40 years and if this is going to cost $230 million just to upgrade to freeway, what will a ring road actually cost? 1 billion or more?

I would rather see all of this money spent on rapid transit, but unfortunately our city thinks rapid transit is something unachievable.

[ldoto]

Tue, July 15, 2008


The city is developing the largest tract of industrial land in London in more than 10 years. Over 80 hectares of land is being serviced in Innovation Park at a cost of $23 million.

London is running out of city-owned serviced industrial land, with about 40 hectares available and the largest single parcel is about nine hectares, Kapil Lakhotia, director of research and business development, with the London Economic Development Corp., said yesterday.

"Our land has been selling and we have to keep up with demand," said Lakhotia. "The Industrial Land Development Strategy states that once a threshold has been reached (on available land), we have to buy and service more."

The move to service land comes as the city and region suffer through plant closings and layoffs in manufacturing and automotive industries, but London still attracts business and has to be prepared, he added.

The city recently landed C.S. Automotive Tubing, an automotive parts supplier; The Cakerie, a food processor; and Hanwha, a building supply company, to Innovation Park at Bradley Avenue and Veterans Memorial Parkway.




To make room for future growth, Innovation Park's phase two of development will see 26.4 hectares by the end of 2008 and another 56 will be added in 2009, in a future growth phase.

"If we have available, serviced land it makes a difference," said Peter White, chief executive of the LEDC. "We are looking at opportunities in other areas," of manufacturing. "We have a serviced park in a great location and it can take any one of a number of different applications."

City-owned land in Innovation Park costs $30,400 a hectare, jumping by $4,000 a hectare in October.

In other communities, land in St. Thomas costs about $18,000 to $26,000 a hectare, Strathroy can range from $16,000 to $20,000 a hectare, and Thames Centre may cost $8,000 to $24,000 a hectare.

But London offers Class A servicing with that cost, including technical support and better infrastructure on site, said Lakhotia.

"We have more inspectors, engineers, grading done by the city, underground hydro, and a storm water management system," he added.

As for Innovation Park, of the $23 million cost of servicing the land, the province pays $11 million.

Gerry Macartney, general manager of the London Chamber of Commerce, believes expanding servicing is a good strategy, adding the city needs to be prepared for future business attraction despite the manufacturing downturn.

"If you have to put a checkmark against one initiative or program the city has undertaken in the last 15 years, it would have to be the industrial land strategy," said Macartney.

"If we do not do this, we take ourselves out of the game. This is the last place the city should cut."

Peter Whatmore, senior vice-president of C.B. Richard Ellis, agreed the city is running out of industrial land.

"Companies that are interested in being part of Innovation Park are not satisfied by the existing inventory. We do not have a huge inventory of land," he said.

Despite the slowdown, several industries still look to move to Southwestern Ontario, added White. In fact, a European plastic injection mould firm is believed to be in the process of deciding between London, Thames Centre, St. Thomas and Strathroy as to where it will locate its plant.

There will be four phases of Innovation Park development of nearly 240 hectares

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

It probably will be a proper freeway, but if the city wants to build a ring road, they will have a long way to go. Think about this...they said they want this built in 20 years. If that is the case, we won't have a full ring road system for probably 40 years and if this is going to cost $230 million just to upgrade to freeway, what will a ring road actually cost? 1 billion or more?

I would rather see all of this money spent on rapid transit, but unfortunately our city thinks rapid transit is something unachievable.

There hasn't been any movement whatsoever on the Western leg of the freeway, although I doubt it will be needed for a long time. And nobody has dared bring up the possibility of a Northern section for a long time (last time it was brought up Middlesex County threw a hissy fit), although it is going to be needed. I think a combination of freeways and rapid transit are the best option. Perhaps a northern leg should be built by the province as part of a new highway to Stratford and Kitchener, linking the 402 with the Conestoga. It could be built somewhere north of Sunningdale Road wherever there is space, and then turn north to run roughly along the GEXR to St. Marys where it would link with Highway 7, and then run westward roughly along old Highway 22, meeting the 402 just east of Strathroy. It would be a staged project, much like Highway 100 has been - built to two lanes at first (although the section in the immediate London vicinity should be built to four lanes with interchanges from the start), then expand when needed.

[Skorji]

Here is a preview of the 25 year development concept I've created for my core area urban design study.

Summary:
- Intensification concentrated around the Thames River.
- Performing Arts Centre located at the rear of the Middlesex-London Health Unit, fronting onto Ivey Park
- Maintaining low-mid rise development throughout the majority of the downtown, especially along Dundas and Richmond retail corridors
- Two mid-block promenades, 1) linking the Covent Garden Market to the Performing Arts Centre and Riverfront. This space can also be used for outdoor activities. Festivals, etc., and 2) another linking London Station to Dundas St. and mass transit. This space is ideal for creating secondary retail frontages and outdoor cafes, patios, etc.
- maintaining and enhancing of all mid-block connections and alley spaces, creating a secondary pedestrian network
- redeveloping the backs of existing buildings, which front onto the secondary pedestrian network, converting back alleys into central courtyards, and back of buildings into live/work units and artist lofts.
- creating a new urban plaza at the northwest corner of richmond and carling street.
- providing a special paving treatment for Talbot between James St / Covent Market Place and King. This area will be designed as a homezone or shared path, and can be closed for special outdoor events, including festivals, etc.
- Improving the quality of the sculpture park in front of museum London.
- there are many other things I could say, but I have to get back to work on my design guidelines.


Enjoy!

[ldoto]

McGuinty resurrects bid for better financial deal with Ottawa

By Keith Leslie, THE CANADIAN PRESS


LONDON, Ont. - It's time Ontario started showing a united front in its feud with the federal government, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday as he urged voters to learn more about what he considers Ottawa's unfair treatment of Canada's largest province.

It's a familiar refrain for McGuinty, as it was for generations of his predecessors, he acknowledged, but the dispute has taken on a new urgency - "the unfairness is more pronounced," he said - because of economic growth in other provinces.

But McGuinty admitted that he has no plans to follow the lead of Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams, whose dispute with Ottawa had him lowering the Canadian flag and calling Prime Minister Stephen Harper "Steve."

"Historically, we've been somewhat reluctant to stand up for ourselves," McGuinty said after a speech to the London Chamber of Commerce.

"There's been a rejigging of the economy of late, nationally, and it's time for Ontarians to come together and assert their claim for fairness."

The federal government collects $20 billion from Ontario every year for distribution in the rest of the country, which no longer makes economic sense when other provinces are doing so much better financially, McGuinty said in his speech.

"Rain or shine, the federal government extracts over three per cent of Ontario's GDP from our economy to redistribute across the country," he said.

"Despite the energy boom in other parts of the country, the federal government today takes more out of Ontario for distribution to other provinces than ever before in Canadian history."

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce, which supports McGuinty's bid for a better financial deal with Ottawa, said the premier is well advised to stay on a leadership track and forget about trying to embarrass the prime minister with stunts or name-calling.

"Those antics may grab headlines but ultimately we want to make some change and we want to make sure that Ontario gets its fair share," said Chamber president Len Crispino.

"It's come to the point now where we're funding other parts of Canada to a far greater degree in terms of quality of services, and that can only be sustained for a portion of time. "

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said he has personally assured McGuinty the opposition will co-operate in the fight for a better deal with Ottawa, but he complained that the governing Liberals need to do more to boost Ontario's economy.

"Denial and diversion are not going to rebuild the Ontario economy," Tory said in an interview.

"I think he's got a lot of homework to do to make Ontario an attractive place to invest again. It's time for him to act to get Ontario back on top instead of just pointing fingers at the federal government."

Canada's equalization program is "so badly broken" that Ontario is required to pay more every time the price of oil goes up, McGuinty complained. Unemployed Ontario workers still don't get a "fair shake" from the federal Employment Insurance system, he added.

"Today, workers in Ontario who lose their jobs get $4,000 less to support their family than workers in other provinces," McGuinty said.

"That's not fair. "

McGuinty also dismissed Tory's call for a public update on the state of Ontario's finances, despite jumps in energy prices and the value of the dollar since the provincial budget was tabled last March.

Tory said growth projections have been cut in half, and government revenues could be well off the forecasts in the budget, but McGuinty said the budget was still balanced and he still expected "modest" but positive growth this year.
__________________

[ldoto]

Wed, July 23, 2008


Ash Borer Battle Downtown
The City of London undertakes a new project to protect the healthiest ash trees in the downtown..



The Amabile Choirs sing in Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria... Some downtown London ash trees -- the city's largest -- are getting the equivalent of a flu shot to help protect them against the deadly emerald ash borer.

Chemical injections around the base of 44 ash trees in the city's core are aimed at deterring infestations for two years. The injections have shown to be effective 80 per cent of the time.

"It's like a flu shot for trees," said Ivan Listar, the city's urban forester.

The trees -- which aren't infested -- are scattered around Victoria Park, Covent Garden Market, John Labatt Centre and the London Convention Centre.

The initiative -- called the Ecoject System -- will cost the city about $8,000, Listar said. It will expand into different areas of London in the future if more money becomes available, he said. London and Toronto are the only places in Ontario to use the system city-wide.




The ash borer was discovered in London last year, when the city first experimented with Ecoject on 300 trees. The metallic green-bronze bug can kill healthy trees in two or three years as the larvae create tunnels by feeding under tree bark, preventing the flow of nutrients.

The ash borer has been found in Lambton, Chatham-Kent, Elgin, Middlesex and Norfolk counties, and has killed 20 million ash trees in North America.

There are 150 ash trees in the city's core, but only the 44 in the best condition were chosen, Listar said.

The injections will start this week.

A plant health-care technician will drill a series of small holes around a tree trunk and attach plastic canisters holding a chemical, called TreeAzin.

The chemical will travel through the tree like water.

The process can take a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the tree's size.

Strathroy-based Arbortech Professional Tree Care will administer the injections.

SOME FACTS ON ASH BORER

Emerald ash borer is a wood-boring beetle native to China and eastern Asia.

It attacks all species of ash trees.

The bugs were found in Michigan in 2002 and have move eastward -- landing in London last year. Some infestations in London are near Masonville Place and Parkwood and University hospitals.

Larvae can kill a healthy ash tree in two to three years.

Adult beetles are 1-1.5 cm long with a metallic green-bronze body colour.

[Blitz]

^ I wonder if this will protect the life of the tree or just prolong the agony for a couple of years. There are no ash trees left in Windsor because of that bug, it was devastating.

[MolsonExport]

Does the Ash Borer also eat jobs? I ask because the London area has lost so many in the past 6 months.