London Construction - Development News Thread#1

[MolsonExport]

YEAH! more commie-blocks!

[ldoto]

ed, May 10, 2006

By NORMAN DE BONO, FREE PRESS BUSINESS REPORTER


A new apartment tower rising in downtown London will have little trouble attracting tenants because demand for core living remains high, according to Ken Sumnall, Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. senior analyst.

Auburn Developments broke ground yesterday on a 23-storey, $35-million apartment building at Ridout Street and Dufferin Avenue.

It is just one of several downtown residential developments under construction or recently opened.

"They are renting, there is no question about that. There has been a real demand downtown," Sumnall said yesterday.

Auburn believes other rental properties that have opened downtown in recent years have done well and there is a pent-up demand they are looking to meet, said Jamie Crich, Auburn president.

Recent rental studies by a Toronto firm have pointed to a residential vacancy rate downtown of about four per cent -- a solid figure given the number of units that have come on the market, Crich added.

Those include:

- Two apartment towers built by Drewlo at Colborne and Dundas streets, with 400 units altogether.

- An 80-unit luxury condominium on Pall Mall Street built by Tricar.

- A 15-storey, $25-million building constructed by Old Oak Properties on Talbot Street.

- Another Auburn development of 137 units for students on Ann Street, just outside the downtown.

- 25 units of affordable housing being built on Dundas Street by Market Lane.

- Time Condominiums on King Street, near the Covent Garden Market, offering more than 150 units next year.

- A 40-unit condominium under construction on Colborne Street, north of Dundas, by the Prespa Group.

"There is a real synergy they have created downtown and that is a big part of this," said Crich. "The (John Labatt Centre) has been a great success and there is a vibrant feel to downtown. It is a great climate."

The city's waiving of development fees saved Auburn more than $1 million on its new development and the company will also get a tax break on the building for about seven years.

The addition of downtown apartments may help feed the demand for other residential spaces, said Sumnall.

"If there are a range of products and choices, then more people will look to downtown. It is a positive," he said.

However, any developers planning future apartment towers may want to pause, said Sumnall. It will take about three years for the impact of these latest projects to be felt and anything more could have trouble filling up.

Janette MacDonald, manager of MainStreet London, still wants to see more homes built downtown.

"I do not think we should slow down. There is definitely a market for different groups, from empty-nesters to graduate students," she said.

There are about 5,000 people living downtown and with 30,000 working there. She would like to see just as many living in the core.

THE HARRISTON

- A 23-storey, $35-million apartment building to be built at Ridout Street and Dufferin Avenue by Auburn Developments.

- Will contain more than 200 units.

- Work to begin in about two weeks and be complete by September 2007

- Will offer one- and two- bedroom apartments with a den, ranging in price from about $1,000 to $1,500 a month.

- Apartments will range from about 700 square feet to 1,500 square feet.






There is a rendering on today's (May 10) Free Press. For now, you can see it here, if you have Adobe Acrobat Reader:

http://www.canoe.ca/LondonPDF/20060510.pdf

[Tony]

Originally Posted by upinottawa

However, it is fun driving past the both the new Canadian Tire and then the abandoned Canadian Tire!

You think that's fun? You should drive by the abandoned Home Depot on Warncliffe south of Southdale. Now that's something you don't see everyday!

[MolsonExport]

^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.

[ldoto]

Update

[ldoto]

UWO to undergo $230 million revamp

Thu, May 11, 2006

By PETER GEIGEN-MILLER, LONDON FREE PRESS REPORTER



The University of Western Ontario plans to spend $230 million over the next seven years on 15 major construction, renovation and relocation projects.

The long-range construction program, announced Thursday at a media briefing, will provide 70,000 square metres of new space for classrooms, laboratories and related facilities.

An additional 85,000 square metres of existing space will be renovated to meet current teaching and research requirements, said UWO president Paul Davenport.

The additional space is needed to help Western deal with a space crunch caused by growing enrolment, especially in graduate programs, and increasing demand for lab and research space, said vice-president academic Fred Longstaffe.

The projects will be financed from a variety of sources including Western’s capital and operating budgets, federal and provincial grants and fundraising.

For the full story, read Friday’s London Free Press on the web or in print.

[MolsonExport]

HA! Beat you to it, ldoto!

London population soars
Thu, May 11, 2006

Officials say the influx of newcomers to the city is the key to the hot pace of construction.

By NORMAN DE BONO, FREE PRESS BUSINESS REPORTER



London is in the midst of its biggest population boom in 20 years and that has building soaring .

Nearly 4,000 people flowed into the city at the end of 2004, the last time figures were recorded. It's a number not seen since the 1980s, said Ken Sumnall, senior market analyst with the Canada Mortgage Housing Corp.

"When you see those numbers, it really impacts the demand for housing and feeds the labour force growth."

That helps explain why building permits in the city refuse to tail off, defying predictions of a looming drop in construction, said Rocky Cerminara, the city's director of building controls.

In London, from January to April this year, $211.5 million in building permits were issued, compared with $186.6 million over the same period last year -- a 13.3-per-cent hike.

"We are riding a wave," said Cerminara. "It's a trend. In the first four months of this year, we are equal or ahead of last year. We're doing very well."

As for population, by the end of 2004, 18,500 people flowed into London and 14,600 left -- a gain of 3,900.

In the 1990s, the population flow ranged from 400 in one year to a high of 2,100.

The city's population after the 2001 census -- the most recent available -- was 335,539.

"We have been enjoying a fairly solid economy. It's because of employment growth," Sumnall said.

The city employed 225,000 in 2001 and 241,100 this year -- a job gain of more than 15,000 in five years, he said.

Home construction led the charge in building statistics with $136.8 million in permits issued, compared with $125.8 million over the same period last year, an increase of 8.7 per cent.

Commercial building, spurred on by the big box boom in north and south London, is also strong, up to $31.6 million, compared with $19.3 million.

"That is more big box than anything else," said Cerminara. He pointed to Hyde Park and Southdale and Wonderland roads areas as hotbeds of retail building.

Institutional building was up to $28.4 million from $24.5 million. Industrial dropped dramatically, as building slowed in health care and education, a 77-per-cent decline to $3.7 million from $16.2 million.

"We are seeing smaller numbers. They were spending in the area of $200 million in 2003 and 2004," Cerminara said.

But the demand for building permits will close by year's end, he said, projecting permits will total $550 million this year, compared with $621 million last year and $647 million in 2004.

"We are on a downward trend," Cerminara said. "We have done surveys with builders, architects and engineers as to what is going on. That is the yardstick we use to measure and what we have now is not sustainable."

LONDON'S GROWTH

The city's net population gains:

- 3,900 in 2004

- 2,100 in 2003

- 3,500 in 2002

- 2,400 in 2001

- 2,500 in 2000

[ldoto]

Update!
Beaver Towers 2nd!

[ldoto]

Tue, May 16, 2006

Source says parts plant near Alliston may be in the offing

By NORMAN DE BONO, LONDON FREE PRESS BUSINESS REPORTER



Honda is poised to make a “significant” announcement for Ontario, and London may win big when the investment is unveiled, industry sources say.

While Ontario will not land an assembly plant, it may get a major parts plant, perhaps making engines or transmissions near its existing facility in Alliston, said the source who declined to be identified.

“They will be making an announcement for Canada and they are saying it is significant,” said the source. “They will be making an announcement soon about their plans for Canada and we are not sure yet whether it is a new plant or an expansion.”

Honda Canada Inc., with the provincial and federal governments, will make an “investment and product announcement,” Wednesday at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto.

John Langley, director of the investment branch for the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade Tuesday declined comment on the speculation.

If there is an investment in Alliston, it will mean the London area will get spinoff work for parts suppliers, analyst Dennis DesRosiers said.

“That has to benefit the London corridor,” he said, referring to the area from Sarnia to Fort Erie. “There is a lineup of Japanese suppliers looking to get into Ontario now.”

The parts sector has seen about $4.5 billion in new investment in the province in recent years — and that number will grow, said DesRosiers.

“I think we are looking at an investment of more than $5 billion in the near future.”

The parts sector boasts annual sales of about $35 billion a year — and it makes sense Honda would add a drivetrain plant to that total, said Gerry Fedchun, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association.

“That is the kind of thing we are really good at. The skill level at an engine or transmission plant is higher than at an assembly operation and our competitive advantage is a skilled workforce,” he said.

Honda is also looking at adding a major assembly operation in the U.S., to make about 150,000 vehicles a year.

While the total employment numbers may be higher at an assembly operation, an Ontario engine plant could still employ up to 3,000 and the average wages are higher because they largely employ skilled trades, said Fedchun.

“It would make sense from a business point of view to put an engine or transmission plant here,” said Fedchun.

If Honda announces a new assembly operation in the U.S., Ontario may still get about 10 per cent of that work — valued at about $100 million, he said.

“We will get some, but not nearly as much as we would if it was closer. It is a stretch, but it is doable.”

Along with Alliston, Sarnia was rumoured to be a site for a Honda parts plant, but Mayor Mike Bradley dismissed the idea Tuesday, saying if one comes to the province it will likely go near the existing assembly plant.

“Following the automotive industry is like chasing smoke, you never really know what’s going on,” said Bradley.

John Kime, chief executive of the London Economic Development Corp., agreed with DesRosiers that London’s parts industry is well positioned to benefit from Honda’s announcement.

“We are beating the bushes to find out what is out there for London and we will continue to do that,” he said. “There are a lot of rumours flying around

[Snark]

..

[ldoto]

Originally Posted by Snark Hi there. I have occasionally lurked here in the past, but when I read this, I decided to join in order to ask more about this potential development. Can you tell us any more about this???

I assume this is the Ridout site you speak of.

After reading bits and pieces about the assembly of the parcel, the quick demolition of the buildings, and the quiet confidence that people who seemed "in the know" about the situation seemed to have in interviews about future development of the site - I suspected somthing major was afoot.

I wondered then if this had the potential to be the new downtown signature development, possibly outdoing One London Place.

So, can anyone say if they know any more about this?

I believe this is what you guys are talking about!


A 23-storey, $35-million apartment building to be built at Ridout Street and Dufferin Avenue by Auburn Developments.

- Will contain more than 200 units.

- Work to begin in about two weeks and be complete by September 2007

- Will offer one- and two- bedroom apartments with a den, ranging in price from about $1,000 to $1,500 a month.

- Apartments will range from about 700 square feet to 1,500 square feet.

[ldoto]

Originally Posted by Snark Hi there. I have occasionally lurked here in the past, but when I read this, I decided to join in order to ask more about this potential development. Can you tell us any more about this???

I assume this is the Ridout site you speak of.

After reading bits and pieces about the assembly of the parcel, the quick demolition of the buildings, and the quiet confidence that people who seemed "in the know" about the situation seemed to have in interviews about future development of the site - I suspected somthing major was afoot.

I wondered then if this had the potential to be the new downtown signature development, possibly outdoing One London Place.

So, can anyone say if they know any more about this?

I believe this is what you guys are talking about!


A 23-storey, $35-million apartment building to be built at Ridout Street and Dufferin Avenue by Auburn Developments.

- Will contain more than 200 units.

- Work to begin in about two weeks and be complete by September 2007

- Will offer one- and two- bedroom apartments with a den, ranging in price from about $1,000 to $1,500 a month.

- Apartments will range from about 700 square feet to 1,500 square feet.

[ldoto]

Sorry for the double post!

[Snark]

..

[GreatTallNorth2]

Here is the dirt I've heard on the Ridout block, which btw is not the tower that Auburn is building:

That block where the Ridout Tavern used to be is owned by a consortium of developers and they are going to sell the land to one of the owners. That owner is planning on building a residential tower with 300 units along with a parking garage at the bottom. This could be built and occupied in two years. With 300 units and an above ground parking structure, my guess is that this will be in the neighbourhood of 30+ stories. That would be nice, seeing as that side of downtown does not have many buildings.

I just hope we don't get another crappy, poorly designed building. We have enough of those already.

BTW, there was plans to put a hotel on that site and maybe that hotel will go somewhere else.

[Snark]

..

[GreatTallNorth2]

Probably with the Auburn development, Ridout and old library development, one of these projects will not happen...hopefully they all will, but probably not. I really like the proposal for the old library. It looks awesome. I would also like to see the Ridout one proceed. If one didn't go through, I hope it would be the Auburn because it is pretty ugly.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

Here is the dirt I've heard on the Ridout block, which btw is not the tower that Auburn is building:

That block where the Ridout Tavern used to be is owned by a consortium of developers and they are going to sell the land to one of the owners. That owner is planning on building a residential tower with 300 units along with a parking garage at the bottom. This could be built and occupied in two years. With 300 units and an above ground parking structure, my guess is that this will be in the neighbourhood of 30+ stories. That would be nice, seeing as that side of downtown does not have many buildings.

This is kinda accurate. I don't have the full details but I know it will probably be two towers.

[GreatTallNorth2]

Have you heard anything then on the heights and just as important...will the design be attractive or boxy?

[Tony]

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

Have you heard anything then on the heights and just as important...will the design be attractive or boxy?

No clue on height. But if we use standard 3m / floor, we'd be sitting around 90m for the height if it goes to 30 storeys. I don't remember what the designer said, but he was thinking of juggling the heights, one may be 30 or taller and the other shorter. There are no finalized designs and we're pretty far away from these right now, so I'm not sure if it'll be "boxy" or something with some curves. I do know he went to check out some Cityplace designs for ideas the other day. (Cityplace TORONTO, not London )