Student apartment tower proposed near Fanshawe’s core campus
Another highrise apartment building is being pitched for downtown London, this one, targeted at students at Fanshawe College’s new campus in the core.
Rygar Properties Inc., has filed plans with the city for a 27-storey apartment building at 150 Dundas St., just a few doors east of the site where the Fanshawe is building a downtown campus on the site once occupied by the Kingsmill’s department store.
Rygar is the same company slated to begin construction of a much larger development nearby on Talbot Street with residential towers of 29 and 38 floors and a nine-storey building. A row of historic buildings, known as Camden Terrace, was demolished to make room for that project.
Rygar principal John Rodgers said construction of the Talbot Street development, still unnamed, should begin in June.
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Rygar’s Dundas Street building would have 200 units and ground-floor commercial tenants and be aimed at Fanshawe students and staff, he said.
Rodgers said he’s confident there’s a market for the two-bedroom, two-bathroom units because the new Fanshawe campus is expected to have an enrolment of 1,600 students.
The building would have student-focused amenities, such as a gym and study space, but no parking.
“Because we are focusing on student housing we do not see the need to provide parking. Parking is expensive to provide and most students do not have cars,” Rodgers said.
He said it also would be be difficult to excavate for a parking garage and there’s no zoning requirement for on-site parking for residential uses downtown.
Rodgers said he consulted Fanshawe officials when he planned the project, but there’s no official connection to the college.
Rygar has not yet acquired 150 Dundas St., a site now occupied by some fast-food outlets.
The building is inside the city’s downtown heritage conservation district, listed as a “priority two,” on the city’s heritage inventory.
The building plan has just been reviewed by the city’s urban design peer review committee and will go to city council’s planning committee for a rezoning application to high-density housing.
If zoning and other approvals are granted, Rodgers said he hopes to have the building open for the fall of 2019.
The new Rygar proposal joins a long list of high-rise buildings proposed for downtown and Old East London. The only ones under construction are the Tricar Group’s Azure condo building and a third tower being built by Medallion Developments on King Street.
Highrise projects in downtown and Old East
505 Talbot St.: Tricar Group, 29 storeys, 200 units, under construction.
King and Lyle streets: Medallion Developments, 21 storeys, 299 units, under construction
183 King St.: Southside Group, 25 storeys, 200 units. Bid to tear down a building, deemed historically important, rejected; project headed to Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).
560, 562 Wellington St. at Wolfe Street: Auburn Developments, 25 storeys, 188 units; Site-plan application on hold, after opposition from nearby Woodfield area.
50 King St.: Middlesex County, 30 storeys, 200 units; City has site-plan application; project opposed by nearby Renaissance Towers residents; headed to OMB.
King and Clarence streets: Former London Mews site, Danford London, two towers, 35 and 32 storeys, total 698 units; third low-rise building with retail, commercial space, some residential.
96 Ridout St. S.: Tricar Group, zoning approved, 22-storey condo tower, 191 units; Not yet under construction.
Talbot and Fullarton streets area: Rygar Properties Inc., multi-tower, 700 apartments; recently approved; site demolition under way.
455 Clarence St.: George Anastasiadis has city approval to build 32-storey, 182-unit project.
515 Richmond St.: Old Oak Properties, 175-unit, 101-metre residential tower with one- and two-bedroom apartments.
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