Downtown revitalization has 'turned the corner'
Sat, November 12, 2005
Revitalization of London's downtown is no longer a hope, but a reality, says a new city report.
Property values are climbing, new businesses are setting up shop, developers and property owners are building and upgrading and new tax dollars are flowing into city coffers, the report says.
"I think we've turned the corner," said Vic Cote, the city's finance boss who, as former head of planning, is considered one of the architects of the core's rebound.
"We are getting to the point, though, where we're starting to see a return on our investments in the growth in assessment," he said.
But Cote also stressed there's still work to be done.
"We're not prepared to say the job is done until we see Dundas Street taking shape."
Still, the state of the downtown is a far cry from the mid- 1990s, when property values plummeted $60 million in the six-block area surrounding the corner of Richmond and Dundas streets.
Since 2001, downtown property assessment has increased more than $50 million.
Here are the numbers:
- Population: Since 1998, more than 1,100 residential units have been built with an estimated 2,000 people moving to the core.
- New stores: In the past year, 74 new stores opened (including several inside Covent Garden Market) while only a handful closed.
- Construction: Since 1998, the city has issued private sector building permits -- for new construction and renovation -- valued at $120 million.
In the five years before 1998, total private-sector building permits were valued at less than $22 million.
- New construction: The city spent about $51 million building the Covent Garden Market in 1998 and the John Labatt Centre in 2001. Since 2001, the private sector has spent nearly $52 million in new construction, mostly residential highrises.
Janette MacDonald, manager of Mainstreet London, said the JLC and market sparked much of the private-sector interest in the core.
"Almost everyone I've talked to said if the JLC wasn't built, they wouldn't have invested down here," she said .
Likewise, people are heading downtown more often, but not just to attend events.
"When people come to the events, they're looking around and seeing it's a place to eat, to shop . . . it has changed their perception of the downtown," MacDonald said.
Three incentive programs are also helping revitalization:
- Tax rebates for property owners who upgrade their properties. To date, the city has refunded $4.4 million, but collected an extra $13.3 million.
- Interest-free loans up to $50,000 to cover 50 per cent of the cost to upgrade buildings to code. The city has lent $740,000, but owners have spent $3.18 million.
- Waiving development fees for new construction, which has led to the construction of eight new residential highrises.
Retailers and restaurateurs have also responded. New restaurants and nightclubs have opened near the JLC. And the increased pedestrian traffic is drawing retailers.
Jonathan Bancroft-Snell Interiors, a studio specializing in top Canadian ceramic artists and paintings by emerging artists, moved from Galleria London to a Dundas Street storefront near Wellington Road last May.
Sales soared and Bancroft-Snell said he expects to end the year up 50 per cent.
"I really feel the downtown is on the edge of a boom and I wanted to make sure I was there before the rents go up," he said. "There's a vitality downtown now that's just incredible. I've even had people come in telling me the downtown is going to be like it was in the old days."
Bancroft-Snell described the core as a "rising Phoenix."
"And it's the people doing it," he said. "There's a real core of merchants here who really give a damn and it's not just about making money.
"They really believe in the downtown."
MacDonald said, aside from a "few small pockets" on other streets, Dundas Street between Richmond and Clarence streets remains the biggest challenge.
"We need some additional incentives for this block," MacDonald said.
She explained property values haven't recovered from the early 1990s.
"Where we have had success, the people bought their buildings at reasonable prices and they were able to invest in those buildings," she said.
"But some of the people (on this block) bought high and they're not motivated to spend any more money and you really can't blame them."
Cote agrees.
"We need to focus on Dundas and make it so attractive it becomes irresistible for people to set up business and take the risk," he said.
"If we can get Dundas on a stable footing, I think we'll see another phase of private sector investment in the core."
Other issues, MacDonald said, include the need to have more people living in the core and for temporary parking lots to be developed for commercial and residential use.
City planner John Fleming, author of the report, said the city can't rest on its successes.
"It took a long time getting to the state it was in in the mid-1990s and it will take a long time to turn it around.
"We're not to the point where we can become complacent."
WHAT OTHERS SAY
"I feel it in my bones that downtown is the focal (point) of the city again, like it used to be when Eatons and Simpsons were there."
Alan Klein, who, with wife Barb, opened Randall Klein Design showroom in late September at 115 Dundas St. to display the furniture they make.
"I think we're evolving as best we can with buildings that were designed for a different era. I'm optimistic, but it's not going to happen overnight."
Fred Kingsmill, owner of Kingsmill's on Dundas, who has watched the downtown's evolution over more than 50 years.
"I think there are a lot of positive feelings and energy downtown. People are really coming together and Mainstreet London has had a real impact working closely with all the businesses."
Lindsey Elwood, chair of the London Downtown Business Association.
"The beachhead is being built . . . I don't want to jinx it, but I really see some positive stuff happening."
Mike Smith, owner of Chancey Smith's at Covent Garden Market.
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