750 and 760 Second Street - two 15s (Under Construction)

[CanadianTalk]

Two 12s rental apartment buildings are proposed at the SE corner of Oxford Street and Second Street, on what is now the site of an old light-industrial building.

Just steps away from Fanshawe College, and steps away from the future east terminus of the East London BRT leg.

Application notice: https://london.ca/sites/default/files/20...Application-%20568%20Second%20Street.pdf

Application page: https://london.ca/business-development/p.../planning-applications/568-second-street

Though I do wish that there would be commercial use on the main floor. Would be perfect in this location IMO, given its proximity to the college as well as future high-density residential nearby such as at the old psychiatric hospital lands.

[jammer139]

Will be fun to watch how City reacts to this proposal considering they rejected a proposal just west of First St because it was too big. Fanshawe College was against the competition for that proposal too. An even more density and high rises are being proposed for the LPH lands along Oxford all the way to Highbury. The issue raised about sanitary sewers being at 98% of capacity was also raiased at the previous rejection. Knowing this what action has City planning and Waste Management taken to plan for additional sewer capacity and utility needs?

[Djeffery]

The current building was most recently a call centre, which also did a lot of renovations over covid (I delivered dozens of large screen TVs there in 2020), and was Jones Packaging prior to that, for decades. So the property did have a significant sewage usage in its prior lives. Not to the same level as hundreds of new units, but not a totally new demand from a virgin property either. I don't think way the buildings are situated on the property are that conducive to street level commercial. If they were actually right up on Second St, then maybe, but being set back with parking in front, I doubt you would draw in many passersby.

[Spoofy]

.

[CanadianTalk]

I totally forgot that the hydro corridor was there, lol! In my mind, when I was looking at the site plan, I wondered why they would not position the buildings so that they are street-facing.

Yeah in that case, having street-level commercial would not work. However I am sure we'll see more mixed-use proposals on the lands to the west in the coming years. I also agree that this proposal is definitely much better than what is currently on that site.

[jammer139]

LFP article on proposal.


https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/deve...twin-tower-project-near-fanshawe-college

[CanadianTalk]

The public meeting for these proposed apartment buildings will be on June 19th at the Planning and Environment committee meeting.

https://london.ca/sites/default/files/20...et%20-%20Public%20Meeting%20Notice_0.pdf

[FWD15]

As long as The Take Out fish and chip shop stays I'm all for the proposal

[CanadianTalk]

City planning staff is recommending that Council approve the zoning change that would allow for these apartment buildings with some special provisions.

According to the staff report, the requested density cannot be accommodated based on existing servicing constraints. Additionally, concerns have been raised by City staff about "the site design of the proposal, including the limited amount of amenity space and landscaped open space, the excessive amount of parking provided, the safety and connectivity of pedestrian circulation on site, and the impacts of the height and mass of the proposed buildings on the site and surrounding area."

As a result, planning staff are recommending a special holding provision zone which would allow the development to proceed when the concerns above have been addressed, mainly the servicing concerns.

Goes to Council's Planning and Environment committee on June 19th.

Staff report: https://london.ca/sites/default/files/2023-06/FINAL%20568%20Second%20Street%20Z-9522%20%28CP%29.pdf

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Originally Posted by jammer139

.....An even more density and high rises are being proposed for the LPH lands along Oxford all the way to Highbury. The issue raised about sanitary sewers being at 98% of capacity was also raiased at the previous rejection. Knowing this what action has City planning and Waste Management taken to plan for additional sewer capacity and utility needs?

Yep, you're right, that is now two proposed developments in the immediate area rejected mainly due to servicing constraints. I believe this section of Oxford will be reconstructed within the next couple years as part of the BRT road widening project. One can hope that the city will fix the servicing issues when the road will need to be torn up....

[jammer139]

Applicant presentation with fresh renders.


PEC approves 5-0 for zoning change with some holding provisions



https://pub-london.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=100054

[CanadianTalk]

Originally Posted by jammer139

Applicant presentation with fresh renders.


PEC approves 5-0 for zoning change with some holding provisions



https://pub-london.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=100054

Council has unanimously approved this development, with the holding provisions.

[CanadianTalk]

From the city's weekly public notice:

568 Second Street – The Delegated Authority for the City of London intends to consider removing the h-8 holding provision from the subject lands. The purpose of the “h-8” provision is to ensure the orderly development of lands and the adequate provision of municipal services, the “h-8” symbol shall not be deleted until appropriate servicing arrangements are provided to the satisfaction of the City. The Delegated Authority will consider removing the holding provisions as they apply to these lands no earlier than May 1, 2025.

If you look back a few posts of this thread, you will see that the zoning changes for two 12-storey buildings were approved a couple of years ago, with some special holding provisions (which are essentially like conditions).... it looks like the city will be removing them soon.


A minor variance application was filed this year by the developer to increase the height of the buildings to 15 stories, and that was approved in March.

There has also been some back and forth over the last couple of years between the city and the developer during the site plan process..... next up would be the building permit process, once the site plan is approved.

[Djeffery]

Demolition of the former Jones Packaging/Stream call centre building was well underway Monday. Who knows if this means construction might start sometime in the not too distant future or if they just wanted the building gone before winter to save costs on security and "maintenance".

[jammer139]

Would be good news if they indeed start the construction of the proposed apartment buildings.

[CanadianTalk]

A foundation permit for one of the buildings (the north one) was filed last year as well... it's under a new address which is why I didn't capture it in my previous post from earlier this year:

Looks like the permit was approved over the summer so hopefully we do see construction start soon.

[Djeffery]

Weird the differences in addresses. Yet when I look both up, they are on that corner. Strange.

[jammer139]

Just a section of the south and west wall left standing of the old industrial/commercial building. Most of the structural steel has been sorted. The ground concrete slab is still there and no obvious steps have been started to dig up the ground floor concrete slab in order to clear the site.

[jammer139]

They have started digging up the ground floor concrete slab on the north end of the former building. The south wall and part of the west wall are still standing thou.

[jammer139]

They have got the south wall now down and have made progress digging up the ground floor concrete base. Probably have a few more weeks of work to sort and truck away the materials.

[jammer139]

Interesting to see both EllisDon and Southside signs on the construction fencing of this site. There are now a couple of trailers parked along Second St as well. Doubt this has anything to do with the demolition which appears to be done now. Could this be the first tower crane assembly of 2026? Or will Auburn setup tower crane #2 up on Villagewalk?

Of note they got a site service permit on dec 5th valued at $400K and a 15s erect permit valued at $79M for the north building.