London Construction - Development News Thread #1 - Page 47

QuantumLeap · #**921** Posted **Dec 12, 2007, 11:50 PM**

Rumours confirmed:
American Apparel going downtown.

Whether you like the style or not, whether you like big chains or not, there is no question: the arrival of American Apparel is good news. Not just to fill an empty storefront, but because of what it represents:

-the first lease by a major retail chain in the downtown for quite some time -one of the first leases by a major retail chain in a streetfront location for some time (although I am told that in the 70s, 80s and 90s such stores as Holt Renfrew and Harry Rosen had Dundas St boutiques)
-first AA store going downtown and NOT at White Oaks or Masonville
-there are no AA boutiques in Windsor, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo or Mississauga (although there is one in Kingston)

ldoto · #**922** Posted **Dec 13, 2007, 12:32 AM**

Yes you are right!!! Check this out it will be opening fall 2007 at
551 Richmond St.
London, Ont

http://www.americanapparel.net/storelocations/metroareas.asp?metroareaid=106

ldoto · #**923** Posted **Dec 13, 2007, 12:58 AM**

Wed, December 12, 2007

Developer responds to news about search for court site

By CHIP MARTIN, SUN MEDIA

The Ontario Realty Corp. is actively seeking parcels of land in downtown St. Thomas for a new court facility.

But the agency insists it hasn’t ruled out the stately Elgin County Courthouse on Wellington Street as a potential site for a consolidated courts operation.

In newspaper advertisements, a London law firm, on behalf of a “client,” is seeking “lands . . . for commercial/institutional development purposes and must be approximately three to five acres.”

Interested parties are to respond by Jan. 5 in what is called a “request for submissions of interest.”

The nature of the search and the site size are exactly what the ORC said recently it is seeking.

ORC spokesperson Bill Moore said today despite the ad, the Wellington Street courthouse is still being considered.

But Shmuel Farhi, the prominent London businessperson who has owned it since 1989 and offered it to the city so it can work with the province to expand and renovate it to house all local courts, said the notice is bad news.

“I’m speechless,” he said, quickly recovering to say it specifies “land” is being sought and the size is about twice that of the historic building that currently houses only senior-level courts.

He says he can’t compete, given those requirements.

“Heritage to them means nothing,” he charged. Farhi has repeatedly warned that if courts are removed from the purpose-built structure, it may be doomed because it’s suitable for no other use.

“It’s going to be another Alma College,” said Farhi, referring to the former private school for girls that has been neglected for years and is expected to be razed.

Farhi, who has spent millions refurbishing the courthouse, complained earlier the process to consolidate courts in St. Thomas has been adjusted in such a way to exclude him and his property. He noted he has offered it to the city so it can deal with provincial officials, but that has done little good.

He said he’s unimpressed with provincial officials for “speaking out of both sides of their mouths” when Premier Dalton McGuinty said heritage is important but the ORC views it as an “encumbrance” in assessing sites.
__________________

ldoto · #**924** Posted **Dec 14, 2007, 2:58 AM**

Londoners heading downtown can continue to park for free at downtown meters and city-owned parking lots until month's end.

The city will continue to allow free two-hour parking all days, except Sunday, to celebrate the completion of the work on the downtown sinkhole and to thank Londoners for their patience.

Free parking is available at on-street meters in the area in York, Waterloo, Ridout streets and Queens Avenue and at parking lots at the John Labatt Centre and beside the London Club.

ldoto · #**925** Posted **Dec 14, 2007, 3:00 AM**

Update!!!

Thu, December 13, 2007

By DANIELA SIMUNAC, SUN MEDIA

Mocha Shriners voted last night to contribute $1 million to establish a telemedicine service at Children's Hospital.

"I'm very emotional," Debbie Comuzzi, president of Children's Health Foundation, said after the vote by Shriners at the Mocha Temple on Colborne Street.

"It's a defining moment for Shriners. Their legacy has now been solidified in London and Southwestern Ontario."

The telemedicine service will begin operating next year.

The money will assist the treatment of children with broken bones from trauma, bone deformities from disease or poorly developed bones from illness.

Telemedicine technology helps doctors make a timely diagnosis and monitor treatments at clinics closer to patients' homes through the use of specialized video cameras and monitors.

"It will help more children by bringing a world-class treatment to them," Shriners spokesperson Jeff Brown said.

The pediatric orthopedic unit at Children's Hospital is treating 100 children from Sarnia and 150 Chatham-Kent children.

The staff at Children's Hospital is highly qualified and well-deserving of the money, Brown said.

"They do such a fantastic job."

The latest Shriner contribution is in addition to their support for Shriner hospitals in Montreal, Erie, Pa., Cincinnati and Chicago.

Carlos_x3 · #**926** Posted **Dec 14, 2007, 6:43 AM**

There was an American Apparrel boutique in downtown Windsor before, not too long ago.

ldoto · #**927** Posted **Dec 14, 2007, 9:20 PM**

President of Total Demolition, piles debris from the front of a building on Dundas Street next door to the Capitol Theatre yesterday.

Downtown's largest property owner, Shmuel Farhi, is fixing up a vacant heritage building on Dundas Street next to the Capitol Theatre.

The former Bowles Lunch counter, located at 206 Dundas St. and part of the same property as the Capitol next door, had its siding taken down yesterday.

The work is the initial phase of a makeover that will include renovations to its interior and exterior.

"We're going to bring the building back to life," Farhi said yesterday. "It's going to cost us. It doesn't make sense for us to do this financially."

The fixup project is Farhi's latest attempt at saving heritage in the community, he said.

"If we have no heart for our past, how can we look forward? When you take heritage buildings down, you cannot replace them," Farhi said.

The aim of the reconstruction is to bring new businesses to Dundas Street, Farhi said, adding the area is the most challenging to deal with in the city.

"Twenty years ago, Dundas Street was happening . . . today you can't get five bucks for a square foot on Dundas Street," he said.

Farhi said he doesn't know how much the project will cost.

He's spent millions in salvaging older buildings, including the St. Thomas courthouse that may -- or may not -- be the new site of a consolidated courts operation, depending on a decision of the Ontario Realty Corp.

The changes to 206 Dundas St. come more than a week after city council directed staff to negotiate with Farhi about leasing up to 5,000 square feet of the Capitol Theatre building for 10 years.

Last year, Farhi threatened council that if it didn't step in and help to preserve the Capitol Theatre and the former Bowles Lunch counter, he would raze them.

The facades are all that remain of the two buildings because the backs were demolished to make way for parking.

Heritage activists say saving the facades is important because of architecturally significant attributes hidden behind the metal cladding.

The activists also say the facades need to remain to preserve the streetscape.

ldoto · #**928** Posted **Dec 14, 2007, 9:20 PM**

Update!!!!

President of Total Demolition, piles debris from the front of a building on Dundas Street next door to the Capitol Theatre yesterday.

Downtown's largest property owner, Shmuel Farhi, is fixing up a vacant heritage building on Dundas Street next to the Capitol Theatre.

The former Bowles Lunch counter, located at 206 Dundas St. and part of the same property as the Capitol next door, had its siding taken down yesterday.

The work is the initial phase of a makeover that will include renovations to its interior and exterior.

"We're going to bring the building back to life," Farhi said yesterday. "It's going to cost us. It doesn't make sense for us to do this financially."

The fixup project is Farhi's latest attempt at saving heritage in the community, he said.

"If we have no heart for our past, how can we look forward? When you take heritage buildings down, you cannot replace them," Farhi said.

The aim of the reconstruction is to bring new businesses to Dundas Street, Farhi said, adding the area is the most challenging to deal with in the city.

"Twenty years ago, Dundas Street was happening . . . today you can't get five bucks for a square foot on Dundas Street," he said.

Farhi said he doesn't know how much the project will cost.

He's spent millions in salvaging older buildings, including the St. Thomas courthouse that may -- or may not -- be the new site of a consolidated courts operation, depending on a decision of the Ontario Realty Corp.

The changes to 206 Dundas St. come more than a week after city council directed staff to negotiate with Farhi about leasing up to 5,000 square feet of the Capitol Theatre building for 10 years.

Last year, Farhi threatened council that if it didn't step in and help to preserve the Capitol Theatre and the former Bowles Lunch counter, he would raze them.

The facades are all that remain of the two buildings because the backs were demolished to make way for parking.

Heritage activists say saving the facades is important because of architecturally significant attributes hidden behind the metal cladding.

The activists also say the facades need to remain to preserve the streetscape.

MolsonExport · #**929** Posted **Dec 14, 2007, 10:20 PM**

^double post?

ldoto · #**930** Posted **Dec 15, 2007, 5:15 AM**

Yes I know!!!:

SlickFranky · #**931** Posted **Dec 15, 2007, 7:06 AM**

Can't wait to see what's behind all that ugly-as-shit cladding.

Snark · #**932** Posted **Dec 15, 2007, 5:00 PM**

Agreed! Why not let constructive ME comments speak for all instead:

heh, heh. I guess I am reluctant to do just that. It is no big deal anyway...I get my name in the papers relatively often given my career.

Speaking for myself, I feel eminently qualified to comment on such phenomena

I am quoted in the LFP today
I have appeared on A-Morning a couple of times (interviewed...I am in academia). Oh well, there is still the LFP

I have no idea what the cost would be.

<deleted>

Sorry, I was barely awake, and I just tune out of all the bad news of late, for the sake of my sanity.

Landmark? Looks like a pile of shit.

A mountain of locusts? Change the name. Likewise, would you want to live on Cheapside (major street in London).

Middlesex (what the hell is this, a hermaphrodite?)

Yeah, aren't they vile?

I am glad, then. So that I will not have to waste my time instructing such retarded deadbeats.

Take London (ON), multiply it by 10, and maybe then, you would have something that could, very possibly, be a candidate for world-class.

Not the Shriners thing again. Fer fvcksakes, when will it ever end?

It's the new building for West Park Baptist Church (currently near Wonderland & Hyde Park Rd.). Damn. Not another one.

London has long ceased being a head-office city, to being a back-office city.

Whats the news of the new Walfart that is supposed to go up at Sprawldale and unWonderland?

Man, the Galleria has gotta be one of the biggest urban disasters in Canada. I was there yesterday...unfuckingbelievable how empty the place is.

A veritable ghostown of a mall, with more than 40 vacant stores to better serve you!

overmalled....but Westmount will still be a mall? Sounds like the managers are lacking a solid strategy. If I were a tenant in the mall, I would be worried.

The "rebirth" of the Galleria is rather like a woman experiencing 72 months of gestation followed by 24 months of labour.

could this be the first signs of Masonville mall going the way of Westmount mall??

Nice, but I hear that they do not serve BEER at Labatt Park...extremely ironic and moronic.

allow Labatt park to serve beer...and I will go to see London Majors games.

Wharnecliffe is going down the toilet. At least half of it (from Oxford to Commissioners) sits at the bottom of the bowl, with the other turds. A charming slice of East London in western London.

YEAH! more commie-blocks!

I am getting pissed off at the so-called leaders of London.

Nostalgia for the status quo = today's london leadership = mediocrity

yup: london planners/council-->think small.

I have to agree that the current administration really comes up short in their 'vision' for what London ought to aspire to.

London busses are horrible. They smell, have no seats, and constantly lurch. Not to mention, the schedules, and the asinine amount of time it takes to get from point A to point B

very overdue. I can't understand why they rezone/develop areas prior to improving the infrastructure.

too bad that it will probably be years before it goes back up again for phase II

More bad news for London. The daily dose

For Gawd's sake, London has only 2 complete East-West and North-South roads:
East-West: Fanshawe Park Road and Oxford
North-South: Wonderland and Highbury.
That's it. Everything else does not go through all the way.

Council should wake up...given the lousy local economy, taxpayers are not feeling generous, and frankly, a little tired of property (et al.) tax increases that have long outstripped inflation

London has the third-busiest airport in Canada, after Toronto and Vancouver. Really? Ahead of Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, Winnipeg, etc.? Must be freight. Would like to see the supporting statistics.

thats a tall proposal for a shitsville corner. Love to see it happen....but in this market?

Visonary. 30 years, I will be approaching 70. I can then look forward to a quick way to Fanshawe Park Road. Yay.

Any info on the proposed Walfart at Exeter and Wonderland Rd. South?

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

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

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.

Looks like a run-down 70's era Las Vegas motor inn.

Quite frankly, who gives two-shits what Jack Layton says?

And the commie-blocks keep-a-comin' in London, esp. in the Oxford-Wonderland area.
I'd rather have no construction, than more of those ugly commie-blocks. Parts of London could easily pass for Irkutsk or Dniepreprovetsk.

I am not too impressed, having bought a home in the neighborhood.

Not again.

Good, but if it happens, I will eat my shoes.
I refer to them as Dumbcentres.

Ultra 80s, Ultra Smell (Bell) Canada. Smell has a building like this in every single major city in Canada.

This actually looks pretty good. I was in the area this weekend past, and it currently is about as gritty and shitty as anywhere in the country.

Yeah, just what I expected, city council is totally in cahoots with the big box sprawl developers. Who gives a shit if inner London looks like shit,

Yeah, I live about 1 km from that shitty bridge. and cross it from time to time. It is the Marie-Anne de Cicco way: rezone, build, but do not expand the infrastructure.

More of Anne-Marie's "Best and Brightest" (aka, highest salaries and sick-days, and moreover, mediocre results

yep. exactly. anyone else, it would be front-page news. And you'd think, "wow, the mayor's husband...for sure the LFP will have something"...but it is buried like a skeleton in the closet.

And while we are at it, how on earth did Best get the exemption for that lousy deck/patio along Richmond? Fishy, fishy.

What do you all think about the Mayor's husband's little adventure last saturday? Must be pretty damned embarassing for Anne-Marie, to say the least.

Same shit they smoked when they decided to bury the drunk-driving adventure of Mr. A-M deC-Best.

No news on Mr. AMdeC-Best? Still got his drivers' license, I presume?

If he got drunk (and then drove) in his own bar...could he be at risk of losing his liquor license? Did you sit out on the cheapo patio at Friday Fright Nites?

Not because of, but despite the current administration on dufferin st.

QuantumLeap · #**933** Posted **Dec 16, 2007, 10:42 PM**

I have seen pictures of the Bowles Lunch in its heyday. It is one of the few buildings in London with a glazed terra cotta facade, which are very attractive. One of the few other buildings in this style is the very classy Gardner Auctions building on York.

ldoto · #**934** Posted **Dec 17, 2007, 3:24 AM**

Despite a flurry of apartment construction in the past year, London's rental vacancy rate is holding steady.

A survey released yesterday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) showed the vacancy rate at 3.6 per cent in October, down from 3.7 per cent in April and equal to the rate recorded in October 2006.

London was above the Ontario rate that fell slightly to 3.3 per cent in the latest survey.

The national rate was 2.3 per cent, pushed down by low vacancy rates in Alberta and British Columbia.

The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in London went up 2.3 per cent compared with October 2006.

In 2006, construction starts on 1,100 apartment units helped London smash the annual record for building permits.

But CMHC analyst Penny Wu said some of the projects are still under construction. She said about 539 rental units have come into the market in the past year, compared to about 320 units in the previous year.

Wu said a strong youth employment rate and net migration to London helped fill many of the new rental units.

"A lot of young people are getting jobs and are able to move out on their own."

The number of young adults living with their parents in London is relatively low compared with other Ontario cities, Wu said.

A number of larger rental units, including townhouses, came on the market because many renters jumped into the housing market, pushing real estate sales to record levels last year, she said
Several major apartment projects are still under construction and will come on the market in the coming year, including buildings on Proudfoot Lane and Southdale Road.

The flood of new units may bump up the vacancy rate in the future, Wu said.
"It will depend on the job market. Will young people and immigrants have the job that allows them to buy a house?"

MolsonExport · #**935** Posted **Dec 17, 2007, 2:27 PM**

And the commie-blocks keep-a-comin' in London, esp. in the Oxford-Wonderland area.

I'd rather have no construction, than more of those ugly commie-blocks. Parts of London could easily pass for Irkutsk or Dniepreprovetsk.

QuantumLeap · #**936** Posted **Dec 17, 2007, 10:30 PM**

Dniepreprovetsk. I love it.

QuantumLeap · #**937** Posted **Dec 17, 2007, 10:34 PM**

Dnipropetrovsk. We are falling behind the Russians.

ldoto · #**938** Posted **Dec 19, 2007, 2:22 AM**

London video-game company looking to expand

Tue, December 18, 2007

By HANK DANISZEWSKI, SUN MEDIA

Beanbag Studios, a London video-game developer, is looking for $6-$8 million in investment to fuel a major expansion in the coming year.

Beanbag president Stephen Bergenholtz said the company is getting help from the London Economic Development Corporation in attracting investors, including some from the London area.

Bergenholtz said the company plans to increase its payroll from 30 to 100 employees in the coming year. The company moved into a commercial building at Richmond and Dufferin Streets earlier this year and can easily expand into vacant adjoining offices.

Bergenholtz said Beanbag would use the investment money for several purposes:

-hiring more video-game programmers, artists and game testers

-buying the rights to develop video games from entertainment properties owned by MGM, CBS and NBC.

-expand into the production of infomercials to sell products such as software.

The company has focused on developing games for PCs, Macs, cellphones and other hand-held devices.

Beanbag recently produced and released new games based on the popular “for Dummies” series of how-to-books.

The company will soon release a series of video games based on classic TV series including I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners and The Three Stooges.

ldoto · #**939** Posted **Dec 19, 2007, 2:32 AM**

London city council may not make great theatre, but last night it drew the kind of response usually reserved for artists and performers.

About three dozen supporters of the prized but financially struggling Arts Project burst into applause after council approved $10,000 in emergency funding to help keep the downtown arts venue from shutting down for good.

"A lot of us believe in the Arts Project as a very important part not just of our downtown, but of the arts and culture community," Controller Gord Hume said.

It was almost unanimously approved, with Paul Van Meerbergen the only member of council voting against it.

The money, however, didn't come unconditionally: The Arts Project must now submit a new business plan to the city by January's end.

In addition to the city's one-time cash infusion, a private donor is giving $10,000 and the London Downtown Business Association is set to vote on adding another $10,000.

That $30,000 will likely keep the non-profit gallery and theatre going for a six-month period, during which time the new business model will be established and its annual general meeting held.

As it stands, the Arts Project usually ends each year with a $50,000 deficit.

Last week, board of control rejected a request for $50,000 in emergency funding. Hume suggested the group ask for a smaller amount and hammered out last night's $10,000 request with board members.

The Arts Project defaulted on its November rent and was due to shut its doors next week if no extra help arrived.

Nearly five years ago it bought its building at 203 Dundas St., near Clarence Street. The site is advertised as a stepping stone for emerging artists, giving them a spot to exhibit their work.

It gets more than 30,000 visitors a year and is usually booked a year in advance by artists and local theatre groups.

Its calendar for 2008 is already full

ldoto · #**940** Posted **Dec 20, 2007, 2:19 AM**

The London Transit Commission is set to get a $8.9-million boost from the Ontario government's gas-tax program, so it can expand services.

The cash infusion promised by the province provides two cents of tax revenue from every litre of gas sold in Ontario.

Half the $8.9 million announced yesterday will be used to build a second site to augment the LTC's Highbury Avenue operations facility, now at capacity.
The LTC has not confirmed a location for that building.

"We want a satellite facility for up to 100 buses by mid-year 2010," LTC general manager Larry Ducharme said yesterday.

Another $2.8 million will go toward operating costs and service expansion costs.
He said the LTC has expanded bus service by 10,000 hours every year since 2005.

"We will continue to buy expansion buses, probably two in 2008, and will be looking at the transit security system to see what security devices we need in service," said Ducharme.

This would include determining whether or not to install cameras on buses, he said.
"The province committed to investing in transportation and they delivered on it. And we continue to need it."

The amount each municipality receives is based on ridership, population and gas sales.

The commission had budgeted to get $8.83 million from the gas-tax fund.
"We never know what the allocation will be. We give it our best guess at budget time," said Ducharme.

The gas-tax program provides long-term, predictable, sustainable funding, he said.

"It gives you that sustainability in terms of funding and with that you can determine where you want to be," said Ducharme.

St. Thomas, meanwhile, will receive $428,013 to improve its transit system. That amount is part of a $314-million pot to be distributed next year to 108 Ontario municipalities.