London Construction - Development News Thread #1

[Blitz]

Originally Posted by ssiguy2

London truly is the Forest City and it is one of her true strenghns

It was named the Forest City because of the dense forests that were originally at the forks of the Thames. It has no more tree cover than the average Canadian city...Londoners just like to think it does.

[Snashcan]

Originally Posted by Blitz

It was named the Forest City because of the dense forests that were originally at the forks of the Thames. It has no more tree cover than the average Canadian city...Londoners just like to think it does.

This is true, one of my professors did the tree inventory for london, per sqft, toronto has more trees then london.

London does have enormous old trees, but there needs to be a huge push to get more trees planted to replace the old ones when they die, and to just fill the city up with trees to make it a more healty place.

[ldoto]

Shmuel Farhi, owner of 70-plus downtown buildings, says he'll raze them, invest elsewhere



Downtown London's largest landowner says he'll let his buildings rot or raze them and divert $100 million in investments if the city doesn't help solve the core's parking problems.

Welcome to Ground Zero of the biggest problem facing downtown landlords.

Without long-term, off-street parking, the downtown "is going to die," Shmuel Farhi warned board of control yesterday in a special meeting.

"If I can't maintain my heritage buildings, the city is going to have problems," said Farhi, whose company, Farhi Holdings Corp., owns more than 70 downtown properties.

"If those buildings go dark . . . in 10 years those buildings are (going to have to be demolished).

"Enough is enough. I'll put my heart in other communities. I'm asking you for help, to be a partner."

Farhi later said: "I have a window of opportunity over the next six months to invest $100 million. Do you want it in London?"

The meeting was hastily arranged by chief administrative officer Jeff Fielding and Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best, when Farhi said he wanted to demolish buildings at 204 and 206 Dundas St., the old Capitol Theatre and former Bowles Lunch Counter.

"I felt there was a sense of urgency," DeCicco-Best said.

Farhi "is the major landlord, a huge supporter of heritage buildings and he has huge challenges with unique properties like this. So we want to work to help wherever we can," DeCicco-Best said.

Both buildings are listed as priority 1 in the city's inventory of heritage buildings.

In June, city council approved a demolition permit for the rear portion of the theatre, provided Farhi left the facade and 500 square feet of commercial space.

That would provide Farhi with about 50 parking spaces for nearby tenants.

But Farhi now says he needs a long-term tenant for the rest of the building to make the estimated $500,000 in renovations feasible.

Otherwise, Farhi said he'll demolish the facades and add another 20 spaces, urgently needed because he'll lose tenant parking space at Galleria on Jan. 1.

City planners and heritage enthusiasts say if the buildings are demolished, a "gap-toothed hole" will be left in Dundas Street that would be a major setback to the core's revitalization.

Further, they say, it could lead to a "domino" effect of buildings being demolished.

DeCicco-Best mostly ignored normal rules of order to allow a free exchange between the sometimes explosive and passionate Farhi and controllers.

Clearly, the board heard Farhi's message, instructing Fielding to find a deal to save the facades of the two Dundas Street buildings before Christmas.

The board also asked staff to start work on a long-term parking strategy.

The direction to staff must still be approved by city council at its next meeting Nov. 6.

Farhi found an ally in Deputy Mayor Tom Gosnell, who this year chaired a downtown parking committee that recommended the city find a partner to build a parking garage.

"Sometimes the city has to make investments to strengthen the core area," Gosnell said.

"The longer we postpone making those investments, the more problems like this will arise and the core will suffer."

It's been suggested the city lease the space at the former Capitol Theatre, moving some of its offices out of city hall.

Farhi didn't make idle threats.

"Legally, if I want to tear down 25 buildings downtown, there's nothing you can do about it," he said as city staff nodded.

The city's demolition control bylaw only applies to residential property. Further, unless a commercial property is designated a heritage building, the city can't deny the owner a demolition permit, city staff said.

Farhi has long pushed the city to find a solution to the core's parking problems.

Though staff and consultants say the core has plenty of parking, Farhi, Gosnell and other landlords say there's no conveniently located long-term parking for long-term tenants in office buildings, leaving many vacant.

Without parking, Farhi said companies downtown, or looking to come to London, will move to the suburbs.

[ldoto]

Residents worry buildings will overcrowd area

Mon, October 30, 2006

By NORMAN DE BONO, FREE PRESS BUSINESS REPORTER




Three new apartment towers will crowd a west London neighbourhood and overburden services, the city's planning committee will be told today.

Old Oak Properties' proposal to build 12-, nine- and five-storey buildings at 610 Beaverbrook Ave., has drawn fire from residents who say it is too much development in the neighbourhood.

"There are 34 highrises within two kilometres of the area and that is a lot," said Lynda Smithers, a Riverside Drive resident opposing the development.

"It is a terrible situation, the area is way overcrowded."

Old Oak is looking for a zoning change to have the parcel of land, south of Proudfoot Lane and north of Riverside Drive, change from medium to high- density.

Among the concerns is that Riverside has capacity for 15,000 cars a day -- and already exceeds that by more than 4,000, said Smithers.

Other concerns include overwhelming services, including sewer capacity, pollution caused by gridlock and saving a woodlot on the property.

However, Coun. Roger Caranci, chairperson of the planning committee, believes the proposal is consistent with what is in the area.

"There are many apartment buildings there now because people want to live there in apartments," he said. "This seems like a compatible development. We get spanked all the time for putting these in areas where there are not apartment buildings."

The matter is likely to go to staff for a report on the impact of services and traffic flow, Caranci said. "I am for development, it is what makes the city tick, it creates jobs and that is something the people of London demand."

But development has to be balanced with the needs of a neighbourhood, said Coun. Judy Bryant, who also sits on the planning committee. A study of that area in 1991 suggested limiting development to medium-density units and apartments to eight storeys -- points that are now exceeded.

"This is why people are alarmed," Bryant said. "It concerns me we have had an area studied and are not following that report. We have a lot there already and it begs the question, 'when do you stop?' "

The proposal would also see lights installed at Beaverbrook and Riverside, which will cause gridlock and difficult conditions in winter as it is hilly, said Smithers. "The traffic in that area now is bad and it will get a lot worse."

[ldoto]

Fontana maps out rail plans

Tue, October 31, 2006

The candidate for mayor vows to work toward moving all CP traffic to the CN line.

By JONATHAN SHER, FREE PRESS CITY HALL REPORTER



Joe Fontana vowed yesterday to try to end the rail gridlock that's snarled London traffic for years.

Standing next to the CP tracks, the mayoral candidate painted a bold and costly vision in which all freight travel would be moved to a CN line with plenty of overpasses.

"I have no illusions this would be easy or cost-free for Londoners. I believe that, given a 10-year time frame to find partners, that it's achievable," Fontana said.

The abandoned CP line could then be used for pedestrians, cyclists and even light rail transit, he said.

"Today's announcement is the boldest and most challenging of all for London," said Fontana, who was facing a big deficit in the polls earlier this month and now has two weeks until election day Nov. 13.

Just how challenging, is a matter of debate.

Fontana says he thinks he can persuade the two rail lines to co-operate, and, if they do, to shake money from the federal government. But the obstacles appear immense. The CN line has two tracks -- one less than needed for both railways the last time city staff checked a few years ago, according to city transportation director Dave Leckie.

Other cities have tried and failed to get one rail company to give up its line, since neither wants to play second fiddle on rails controlled by its competitor, Leckie said.

"When you're a guest on someone else's tracks you may not get an advantage . . . The probability of this happening is pretty low," Leckie said.

If CP rail agreed to a move, building overpasses at the CN tracks would be pricey -- a typical overpass costs $10 million to $20 million, he said.

Such funds may be available through a national infrastructure program, Fontana said. "There is money available."

But his rival, Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best, says that simply isn't the case. For years, the federal government had a program to create overpasses but it was never funded and none were built, she said.

When the city asked the feds to pay one-quarter of a proposed overpass at Hale and Trafalgar streets, the reply was a resounding no, she said.

"The only people that didn't come to the table was the previous federal government," DeCicco-Best said.

Ottawa instead suggested the city abandon other federally-funded projects to do the overpass, she said.

While CN has committed $2 million toward the overpass, it hasn't agreed to pay a one-fourth share, with costs now pegged at $12.8 million.

Even if the city can't implement his plan, Fontana believes talks with the rail companies might achieve smaller goals such as reducing trains during rush hour.

He also announced other transportation and environmental initiatives, including:

- Creating a corridor downtown where streets are closed permanently or part-time to attract pedestrians.

- Planning to eliminate the often-frustrating way the number of road lanes expand and contract, what he calls the "accordion roadway."

- Creating a more aggressive transportation plan to foster ways to keep cars off the road.

- Requiring more energy-efficient homes, encouraging in-fill development and neighbourhoods focused on people, not cars.

A series of Free Press articles found Londoners die waiting for paramedics blocked by trains and motorists wait more than 440,000 hours a year for trains to pass, a huge burden on the local economy.

[ldoto]

Dissent over downtown London parking is spreading to Richmond Row.

Merchants on the boutique strip are joining the chorus of businesspeople who want more parking for the downtown, saying daytime office tenants snap up what space there is along the row and leave little for customers.

"Just about every businessperson along here says we have to do something about parking. If the city talked to businesspeople here, they would tell them there is a big problem," said Dennis Winkler, manager of Wink's eatery on Albert Street, just off Richmond Street.

The city is working on a parking report and last week a special meeting of board of control was convened to hear London developer Shmuel Farhi say there is a need for more commercial parking downtown because office space is going vacant for want of nearby parking.

"Farhi was right. Anyone who invests millions in this city should be listened to," said Winkler.

James Cowie, chairperson of the Richmond Row Merchants Association, agreed, describing parking as "a constant issue" for retailers, discussed at virtually every meeting.

"Parking is a serious issue which needs to be addressed," he said. "Commercial buildings use the parking here and there is nothing for retailers."

But the city is focused first on the downtown parking issue and Richmond Row is not a priority, said Controller Tom Gosnell, chairperson of the city's parking committee.

"We know Richmond Row needs parking too, but our big priority right now is the downtown," said Gosnell.

But a long-term parking solution for the core will have a ripple effect, aiding Richmond as long as commercial tenants get parking, he added.

"The most urgent issue for us right now is downtown office space that is under-used," said Gosnell.

On weekends, Richmond Row enjoys ample parking, but through the week most lots off Richmond are filled by 10 a.m., added Winkler.

"I talk to people who are saying their accounts are way down and they need parking," added Winkler. "I have been to about six merchants' association meetings and it is always talked about."

In addition, merchants are concerned about customers getting hit with costly private tickets of $39 for an expired meter, which is hurting business.

"It is a phenomenal cost if you use one of their meters and get a ticket," said Cowie.

Winkler agreed. "I have had people come in and ask if they can do anything about the ticket. What can I do?"

"People shop here, they have dinner or buy something and get a ticket. It hurts business."

The city was investigating the regulation of parking-ticket fines, but a Toronto court ruling this year ended that, added Gosnell. The city of Toronto lost a legal battle banning private companies from issuing parking tickets. 

[ldoto]

Wed, November 1, 2006

By JOE BELANGER, FREE PRESS CITY HALL REPORTER



London's planning committee is recommending approval of three new apartment towers in a west-end neighbourhood.

Residents in the area opposed the proposal by Old Oak Properties to build 12-, nine- and five-storey buildings at 610 Beaverbrook Ave.

But the committee gave the OK with some reservations over traffic and protection of a woodlot on the property.

"I think this was a good compromise for the applicant and the neighbourhood," said Coun. Roger Caranci, committee chairperson. "The committee felt this development fits in well with the area . . . good for intensification."

Staff are reviewing a traffic study and trying to find a way to permanently protect a woodlot and will report back to council Monday.

Residents complained the area is already congested.

They say the area is overpopulated with highrises, including 34 within two kilometres of the area.

They're also concerned about traffic, which they say is 4,000 vehicles over street capacity of 15,000 cars a day.

Old Oak wants the land, south of Proudfoot Lane and north of Riverside Drive, rezoned from medium to high-density use.

The developer agreed to build three apartment buildings with higher densities instead of four to protect the woodlot.

Ward 1 Coun. Judy Bryant, who also sits on the planning committee, said she's pleased the woodlot will be saved, but worries others may look to develop highrises in the area.

"Just because it's open space doesn't mean it's safe," she said.

A 1991 study of that area suggested limiting development to medium-density units and apartments to eight storeys.

[ldoto]

DOUBLING UP: Tricar owner Joe Carapella stands in front of the twin apartment towers construction site at King and Ridout streets. (DEREK RUTTAN The London Free Press)
You can rule out Castle Carapella, but other than that, just about anything goes.






Tricar Group is inviting Londoners to name the twin apartment towers rising downtown at Ridout and King streets and win $5,000 doing it.

"This is going to be such an important building, I want to know what Londoners want it to be called, what they think," said Joe Carapella, Tricar owner.

"It's one of the biggest developments ever in the city."

Site preparation has been finished and construction began Monday on the apartment towers, Carapella said.


"I want a name befitting the stature it will have in the downtown," he added. "I want Londoners to come up with something creative and unique."

Whoever chooses the winning name will win a prize package valued at $5,000 including a luxury vacation to a Mayan Riviera resort, a $1,000 downtown shopping spree, a night in a private box at the John Labatt Centre -- as well as gift certificates from merchants.

"It's a great idea," said Janette MacDonald, MainStreet London manager. "It is an essential development for downtown London, given its location -- and we hope Londoners get their creative juices flowing."

The contest begins today and entries will be received until Nov. 24. The winner will be named Dec. 1.

Entry forms can be found at www.tricar.com.

The two, 28-storey apartment towers across from the John Labatt Centre will cost about $100 million to build and will have 600 units, which may bring more than 1,000 residents to the core.

But Carapella doesn't want a London version of Trump Towers. His name won't be in the title.

"Who do you think I am, Donald Trump? My ego's not that big," he joked.

Tricar bought the land --which was being used for parking -- from a consortium of city developers for about $4 million. The 0.8-hectare site will have 1,000 parking spaces -- 300 in each tower, with five levels in each (one below ground and four above). Another 400 are proposed for a five-level public parking garage between the towers, which Carapella and the city are still negotiating.

He has proposed that the garage feature a roof-top garden for tenants and says the ground level will offer space for shops and stores.

The living units will range from 700 square feet to 2,200 square feet for the penthouse units and rents will range from $1,000 to $2,200 a month.

[ldoto]

DOUBLING UP: Tricar owner Joe Carapella stands in front of the twin apartment towers construction site at King and Ridout streets. (DEREK RUTTAN The London Free Press)
You can rule out Castle Carapella, but other than that, just about anything goes.






Tricar Group is inviting Londoners to name the twin apartment towers rising downtown at Ridout and King streets and win $5,000 doing it.

"This is going to be such an important building, I want to know what Londoners want it to be called, what they think," said Joe Carapella, Tricar owner.

"It's one of the biggest developments ever in the city."

Site preparation has been finished and construction began Monday on the apartment towers, Carapella said.


"I want a name befitting the stature it will have in the downtown," he added. "I want Londoners to come up with something creative and unique."

Whoever chooses the winning name will win a prize package valued at $5,000 including a luxury vacation to a Mayan Riviera resort, a $1,000 downtown shopping spree, a night in a private box at the John Labatt Centre -- as well as gift certificates from merchants.

"It's a great idea," said Janette MacDonald, MainStreet London manager. "It is an essential development for downtown London, given its location -- and we hope Londoners get their creative juices flowing."

The contest begins today and entries will be received until Nov. 24. The winner will be named Dec. 1.

Entry forms can be found at www.tricar.com.

The two, 28-storey apartment towers across from the John Labatt Centre will cost about $100 million to build and will have 600 units, which may bring more than 1,000 residents to the core.

But Carapella doesn't want a London version of Trump Towers. His name won't be in the title.

"Who do you think I am, Donald Trump? My ego's not that big," he joked.

Tricar bought the land --which was being used for parking -- from a consortium of city developers for about $4 million. The 0.8-hectare site will have 1,000 parking spaces -- 300 in each tower, with five levels in each (one below ground and four above). Another 400 are proposed for a five-level public parking garage between the towers, which Carapella and the city are still negotiating.

He has proposed that the garage feature a roof-top garden for tenants and says the ground level will offer space for shops and stores.

The living units will range from 700 square feet to 2,200 square feet for the penthouse units and rents will range from $1,000 to $2,200 a month.

[MolsonExport]

Name it after Tim Hortons (after all, London has 23,654,879,087,453 Tim Horton's Locations), and call it "Double-Double".

[ldoto]

Update!

[FazDeH]

^^ Great pics, I love how the poster they have on the job site only shows the one tower.

[Snark]

..

[FazDeH]

^^ You sound bitter. I thought we got confermation from the developer over a month ago that both towers were going to be built? Didnt someone from here actually call him? as memory serves me he said there'd be 2. Only time will tell I suppose.

[upinottawa]

This is not exactly development news, but it could have a big impact on the city (although, in fairness, it is too early to tell):

Emerald ash borer found in city lot

Tue, November 7, 2006

By JOE BELANGER, FREE PRESS CITY HALL REPORTER

It's here.

The emerald ash borer, which has laid waste millions of ash trees in the U.S. Midwest and western Ontario, has been found in London.

It's timing for the unwanted arrival could not be worse: the Forest City is already worrying how to cope with its dwindling tree cover that gives the city its nickname.

The tree-destroying beetle was found Oct. 24 by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in two infested trees on a private lot near Wonderland Road and Springbank Drive, within a kilometre of Springbank Park, the crown jewel of the city's park system. Worse, the federal agency suspects the beetle has been on the site at least two to three years.

With an estimated 10,000 ash trees alone in its parks and along its boulevards, even more counting private property and city-owned woodlots, London could be a veritable smorgasbord for the beetle with no known predators.

"It could be anywhere," said Gerry Dowding, project manager for the CFIA, who delivered the grim news to city council last night.

"Probably by spring, we'll have a better idea of what we're dealing with," Dowding said.

Coun. Joni Baechler called the potential fallout for London a "massive" problem.

"It could put us back substantially in terms of tree and woodland cover," she said.

Thought to have arrived in North America from China in wooden packing crates, the borer has left once tree-lined stretches of some American cities looking like war zones.

In a bid to slow or halt the borer's advance, from Michigan and east through Ontario, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency mounted elaborate defences which the pest has overcome:

- A ban was slapped on the movement of ash firewood and still the borer advanced.

- A controversial ash-free zone was cut near Chatham, creating a kind of fireline officials had hoped would prevent the beetle's eastward advance and which triggered an outcry by property owners who saw their trees -- in some cases, huge lots -- levelled.

"The fact it's 10,000 trees in the most obvious areas of the city is a concern to us," said Dave Leckie, the city's director of roads and transportation. "We have entire streets lined with ash trees."

Dowding said the London infestation was likely caused by the delivery of fire wood or other human intervention.

"It's highly unlikely the insect arrived here on its own," he said, adding there's no proven method of controlling the spread of the beetle.

An inspection of trees within 500 metres of the now-quarantined London site showed no signs of the beetle.

Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best said she's buoyed the infestation appears limited.

"We're ahead of the curve on this compared to . . . other municipalities," she said.

Dowding said the beetles are dormant and won't spread any farther until spring.

[Blitz]

^ That thing killed every single ash tree in Windsor, it's really unfortunate that despite all the efforts it still made it up to London.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Snark

Looks like another great London Downtown development in the tradition of One London Place and the Duffern Corporate Centre.

They want a name for this supposed "London landmark"? How about the "Bait And Switch Tower". Or, how about the "Incredible Shrinking Development"?

Whatever impression that some people got thinking this project was going to all happen as advertised should get the real picture with this. I believe that this project as a twin tower development happening anytime soon is DOA. If they had any intention of building the second tower anytime soon, they would have certainly have shown it here, in order to build up the scope and importance of the project in the public eye. They would want to advertise this development as major as possible. If both towers were going up anytime soon, they would have surely shown it as such. They didn't - which means in my mind that they aren't. This must also mean that the parking garage proposal with the city is also dead.

Two towers promised. One delivered. Maybe that should be the new Downtown London mantra.
It is one thing generally consistent about the place: "Downtown London - half of a great thing".

Nah. Call it the "At least it is not a commie-block" tower.

What the hell is happening on Wonderland Road? Going over the CP railway tracks (southbound), you got one hell of a view of commie-block-o-rama.

[FazDeH]

^^ Developers LOVE cheap building projects and they will use the same template over and over to save money. Even on Wonderland and Springbank, a relitively attractive building is the same as the 2 at Wonderland and Southdale, Londons becoming like Sim city, a limited selection of buildings, popping up over and over.

[MolsonExport]

I agree, but unfortunately it is the original version of Sim City, rather than SimCity 4.

[ldoto]

The city of london is going to lose Farhi

Wed, November 8, 2006

By NORMAN DE BONO, FREE PRESS BUSINESS REPORTER



London developer Shmuel Farhi has cut a big deal in Windsor.

He's agreed to a land swap that sees him get 0.4 hectares of prime downtown waterfront land in exchange for 16 hectares in the city's east end where the new arena for the Windsor Spitfires Ontario Hockey League team will go.

Farhi plans to build a $45-million, 20-storey condominium tower on the downtown site and another $50-million commercial and residential development near the new arena, he said yesterday.

The deal may be just the beginning of what he sees as an ongoing relationship.

"They called me and said they wanted to make a deal," Farhi said.

"Here's a city that picked up the phone and said they wanted to work with me. They sent people here and we got a deal done in three weeks."

Farhi has been at loggerheads with the City of London in recent years over developing parking in the downtown for his commercial buildings.

At a recent city council meeting, he threatened to tear down his London developments or invest elsewhere.

Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis said the new arena was the driving force behind the deal. The city wanted to look at building in east Windsor and contacted Farhi, who owned the large parcel.

"We are excited to bring someone here who has a track record of development downtown," Francis said.

"He's an individual who makes things happen."

Windsor also will develop a four-hectare property, immediately behind the land Farhi now owns, as a downtown urban residential area and Francis said he expects Farhi to bid on the development.