London Development Rumour Thread

[M II A II R II K]

Other locals have this thread to post rumours on projects that have yet to be announced, and other unconfirmed information that pertain to developments such as the possibility of a project being cancelled or put on hold or something, before it happens if it happens.

This is not the same as the construction thread, this is only for rumours and speculation.

[ldoto]

Is this a rumour or a project that have not yet be announced, or is it on hold!!!!!Development Planned for SOHO Neighbourhood

GOODWILL INDUSTRIES in partnership with SOHO London is inviting members of the public to a special meeting on Wednesday, October 29.
The meeting will outline Goodwill Industries' plans for a multi-use development on 2.8 acres at Horton and Wellington streets, SOHO's main intersection.

The public meeting will be held at Wellington Street United Church at 7 p.m. Although details are sketchy, the development is described as a "multi-purpose, diverse community and corporate centre."

Advance word is that Goodwill is proposing to build a 30-storey highrise complex which will include retails shops at ground level, several floors of office space and then apartments or condominiums.
The complex is expected to include some accessible housing to meet the mandate of Goodwill Industries.

This development will likely mean that several of the retail establishments along Wellington and Horton will have to relocate.

Anyone with questions is invited to contact Julie Watson at 519-850-9675, ext. 250 or by email at watson@goodwillindustries.ca.

It is expected that the meeting will draw a large crowd since this is the first major development to be proposed for the neighborhood.

SOHO residents are already questioning how the planned upscale development will fit in with the nearby Center of Hope emergency housing complex, operated by the Salvation Army, and the geared-to-income highrise apartment building on Simcoe Street which is operated by the London Housing Authority.

[M II A II R II K]

If it's not confirmed then it's a rumour or information which may turn out to not come to pass.

[ldoto]

So is this post in the right place??

[MolsonExport]

I would be very skeptical of such a large project going forward in the current climate.

[manny_santos]

Anybody have rumours on road construction projects for 2009? Are we going to have to endure another year of no road widenings, thereby leaving our roads congested into 2010?

[MolsonExport]

I thought that widening Wonderland from Gainsborough to Fanshawe Park Rd was about to start.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I thought that widening Wonderland from Gainsborough to Fanshawe Park Rd was about to start.

I thought that was in the capital budget for 2010, but maybe it's been moved up. Hopefully.

I'm also interested in when the Bradley extension extension will be (no, that's not a typo). I thought the Wonderland-Wharncliffe phase was supposed to be done in 2008.

[MolsonExport]

^ the money has been redirected to improving the patio at Friday Nite Lights.

[ldoto]

[Highinthesky]

Falling into the strictly rumour mill I was in Fahri office last year and he had a drawing of a high-rise residential building. I asked him where the building was and he said it was a drawing of building he wants to build in the next 7 or 8 years. The site would be the block he currently owns bordered by Richmond and Wellington to the west and east of the lot and Central and Hyman to the north and south. Tower looked to be somewhere between 25 and 30 stories.

This is as rumour as it gets though

[ForestryW]

I remember seeing that rendering on Fahri's website a while (LONG while) back but it appears to no longer be there. I also recall Fahri came close to building a high-rise building next to the former LPL central branch 5 years ago, which never happened (he blamed "saturation" of the downtown housing market).

[MolsonExport]

^I too remember that.

[Highinthesky]

Well if he felt it was over saturated then I can't imagine his opinion would have changed having Harriston and Renaissance come on market recently. However with both being apartments I would think there would be demand for a new Condo building. The second Renaissance tower could kill that though.

Farhi has to be keeping the rents on the apartments above Richmond out of the market for a reason

[haljackey]

Regarding the old central library, what's being done with it? We still pay our taxes on it yet it's being used for nothing.

Could the city convert it to office space like they did to the old Capitol Theatre?

Could it be turned into a grocery store?

Could it be demolished and redeveloped?

I spoke to the heritage committee last year and they said they want to keep the building. They also want to designate City Hall as a heritage building. I wanted to laugh out loud when they said that but I was barely able to keep it in.

[Highinthesky]

If you mean the building on Queen between Waterloo and Wellington its owned by Farhi so we aren't paying for it anymore and future development is entirely up to him.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by Highinthesky

If you mean the building on Queen between Waterloo and Wellington its owned by Farhi so we aren't paying for it anymore and future development is entirely up to him.

What DOESN'T that alpha male own in Central London?

[Highinthesky]

I also noticed you mentioned the city renovating the capital theater. That too is actually a Farhi owned building and he decided to convert into offices. The city just happens to be his tenant.

The screwed up part is that Farhi spent a huge sum of money, I think north of a million, redoing the facing of those buildings and converting the interior to top notch office space and then MPAC comes along, looks at the permits, and throws the cost listed on the permits onto the buildings as their new assessments. Of course even in their current condition the buildings are not worth that much along that stretch of Dundas. Way to encourage redevelopment in the core.

[ldoto]

Update!!!!

Fanshawe College officials are rebuffing rumours their plans to build a much-vaunted campus in downtown London could be in peril.

Amid renewed focus on the rejuvenation of downtown, Fanshawe officials said Thursday they are inching closer to completing a $20-million deal with city hall to put down roots in the core.

"We're moving closer and closer to reaching a conclusion," Bernice Hull, Fanshawe's vice-president of administration, said, adding they are "very" close to finishing the deal.

City hall has proposed a $20-million pact with the college to establish a core campus that would house its planned School of Applied and Performance Arts.

The money can be split in two halves: the first $10 million would help offset the extra costs Fanshawe faces in buying and renovating heritage buildings. as opposed to building at a cheaper site.

The second $10 million would come from London's economic-development fund. Council has endorsed handing it over once a legal agreement with Fanshawe is completed.

But the expected deadline for that deal has passed - and Fanshawe has said the costs of renovating heritage buildings are higher than they'd expected.

Despite the delay, both Hull and Mayor Joe Fontana have stated with confidence the deal will be complete.

Veteran London journalist Phil McLeod, who blogs at themcleodreport.ca, cited a source in reporting this week that "the project is dead, at least in a heritage building in the downtown core."

Hull said heritage buildings remain part of Fanshawe's plan.

Earlier this month, Fontana termed the longer-than-expected negotiations a "hiccup." On Wednesday, he also downplayed concerns about the project.

The proposed downtown campus could be offering classes by 2012, with Fanshawe hoping its enrolment will hit 1,000 over the next decade.

Possible programs include theatre arts (performance), theatre production, costume design, digital media, culinary arts and broadcasting.

[MolsonExport]

I got a building for them: City Hall. With the ghosts of AMdeC-B (I hear she is now at her alma mater, so it would be a perfect way for her to return to dufferin street without [gulp] becoming mayor again)