Putting London On The Map

[GreatTallNorth2]

Originally Posted by DWBrown

This is what the City of London needs more then anything else. Build the downtown with some much taller highrises and skyscrapers, and that will give it some recognition that London truly deserves.

Developers will take care of any opportunity they see in the market place. Cities themselves don’t build skyscrapers. If London wants to be on the map, we should make the city more attractive for residents and visitors alike. I will say and I’ve said for years, how does London not have any real tourist attractions? We are perfectly situated on the 401 in the midst of major population centres and we have nothing to attract people,to visit and spend money.

[haljackey]

The need for office towers will diminish post-Covid as many companies move to a more permanent work from home policy. For many employers and employees, it's far cheaper to keep them at home vs leasing office space and the employee is happier as they don't need to commute and have more free time.

Once the current leases expire, expect a large surplus of office space as companies require less floor space. The era of large office towers is over, and not just for cities like London but perhaps even major business hubs like Toronto and NYC.

Without office workers, there will be less people downtown. That means less revenue for business who rely on foot traffic like restaurants that cater to the offices or where workers frequent for their lunch breaks.

People were hesitant to go downtown even before the pandemic. The druggie/homess problem just got worse and worse, and businesses were closing due to it such as the Rexall and McDerps at Dundas and Richmond.

I could see some more development on the fringes of downtown like Richmond Row and Vic Park but nothing much in the actual core itself beyond the currently proposed and U/C projects. Might be a while before see another building boom once this one ends.

[MolsonExport]

we need to find a better way to discourage the strung out and homeless from camping out at the main intersection in downtown London. I had thought that once the welfare office had moved out of the Farhi Market Tower (An Empty Building is our most prized asset!) there would be less stanky hobos, but this is not the case.

I have a lot of sympathy for homeless people and druggies (many have been abused as children, others have mental illness), and society as a whole needs to put more resources into attacking the underlying problems and providing treatment. At the same time, these unfortunate people should not be overrunning our downtown.

[jammer139]

How can London build on Music City designation?


https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/how-london-plans-to-capitalize-on-its-city-of-music-status

[MolsonExport]

I think these sorts of labels are just a veneer of bullshit. Every city of a decent size has some famous hometown sons and daughters in the music world, although there are a few (e.g., Detroit) that seem to punch above their weight.

[GreatTallNorth2]

Originally Posted by jammer139

How can London build on Music City designation?


https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/how-london-plans-to-capitalize-on-its-city-of-music-status

The only way the city can build on the designation is with SUBSTANCE. Having a designation means nothing unless there are tangible facilities, events, etc that draw people to the area. And not having the designation does not prohibit a city from being an attractive place for music lovers. For example I noticed that both Nashville and Austin are not classed as UNESCO Cities of Music, yet they are both very well known as "live music cities", so much so that people actually travel to those cities because of this. I really don't know what makes London a designated city. I'm not complaining that we have this designation, but there is nothing at all that stands out in reality that makes us one over any other Canadian city.

[jammer139]

The designation came out of the blue and still not sure how it happened. In terms of substance the city and Western Fair District should work hard to include a 1500-3500 seat event center with world class acoustics to get every type of musical artist from classical to rock and broadway theatre shows as part of a Casino/Hotel redevelopment. The building MUST be designed and engineered with the latest high tech acoustic design to become a destination for artists to come and play. No half assed measures or compromises.