London Development Rumour Thread

[sparky212]

According to the city FHC has 4 million soft of space in Southewester ontario so say a quarter of that is downtown that would be what around 1 million and thats pretty much empty and as of 2015 there was 4.5 million sqft dt so give or take hes would be responsible for most of that percentage

[ssiguy]

Interesting to note that the huge 4 acre parking lot on York between Wellington, Waterloo, and the railway is up for sale,. To have such a huge non-divided lot is rare in the downtown of a major city and I think is too big for a huge condo/apt complex. This is especially true when there are other smaller lots throughout the core that are available for residential and would come with a much smaller price tag.

Who ever buys this has very deep pockets and such won't keep it as a parking lot as this is going to cost a pretty penny. The only thing I can see working on such a huge lot is, I hope, a grocery store.

This is THE ideal location for a grocery. It would not only serve people in the core but is also close to SOHO and Old East. It could accomodate a mid-size store like a Metro and still have enough room for parking.

One thing is for sure, who ever buys it has big plans because keeping it for parking revenue would be a financial loss. That would not have been true 15 years ago but with the far higher price of land in London today, the returns would not be worth it.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Interesting to note that the huge 4 acre parking lot on York between Wellington, Waterloo, and the railway is up for sale,. To have such a huge non-divided lot is rare in the downtown of a major city and I think is too big for a huge condo/apt complex. This is especially true when there are other smaller lots throughout the core that are available for residential and would come with a much smaller price tag.

Who ever buys this has very deep pockets and such won't keep it as a parking lot as this is going to cost a pretty penny. The only thing I can see working on such a huge lot is, I hope, a grocery store.

This is THE ideal location for a grocery. It would not only serve people in the core but is also close to SOHO and Old East. It could accomodate a mid-size store like a Metro and still have enough room for parking.

One thing is for sure, who ever buys it has big plans because keeping it for parking revenue would be a financial loss. That would not have been true 15 years ago but with the far higher price of land in London today, the returns would not be worth it.

It's not exactly a desirable parking lot location anymore either, which is probably why it's for sale. I don't know who owns it or how much they are asking, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a distress sale, given how little demand for parking there has been downtown the last 6 months. Even when downtown was fully up and running, that parking lot was the cheap lot because it was on the fringes of downtown. A friend used to park there when she worked at Richmond and Queens because it was the cheapest option.

[jammer139]

Certainly a prime location for a multi use development. A large grocery store in the podium topped by multiple high rise towers could work here. Let's hope a real developer buys it rather then you know who.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by jammer139

Certainly a prime location for a multi use development. A large grocery store in the podium topped by multiple high rise towers could work here. Let's hope a real developer buys it rather then you know who.

Hell, he probably would think an empty parking lot would go great with his mostly empty Free Press building next door.

[TallerIsBetter]

Lol, I remember the Dominion full service grocery store that was just a little west of Wellington on the south side of York, just to the east of the five story (now repurposed) Post Office. It had a meat department and even a classic sit down lunch counter, and it was the first place I had a hot dog that was cooked on those little rollers. That would have been 1965, IIRC.

[Djeffery]

Drove by today around 11am. Granted it is a Friday before a long weekend during a pandemic, but there were less than 2 dozen cars. Not going to pay the bills with that.

[MolsonExport]

what the fuck is it with Farhi? How does he generate the cash flow to maintain his empty buildings and pay municipal taxes?

[jammer139]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

what the fuck is it with Farhi? How does he generate the cash flow to maintain his empty buildings and pay municipal taxes?

This was a great help - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/londo...ndon-1.4956457

[FazDeH]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

what the fuck is it with Farhi? How does he generate the cash flow to maintain his empty buildings and pay municipal taxes?

My understanding is his company is an investor group so the general upkeep of the properties isnt really the issue, nor is the vacancy rate.
If he bought building A in 1996 for 1 and it's now worth 8, it's a huge value increase for his investors. They arent worried about 40k worth of property taxes on something they own outright that has increased in value by many times over. It's the long game of building wealth.

[MolsonExport]

deteriorating assets in a high vacancy market is not exactly a sage investing strategy.

[Djeffery]

That doesn't make sense to me. The property will be worth more over time if it has tenants. And it will have generated cash flow in the meantime if it has tenants. And I doubt anything he owns downtown has gone up in value by many times it's original purchase price, he hasn't been in the game that long (he was a pretty small player in St Thomas in the early 90's). Downtown London isn't downtown Toronto.

[jammer139]

Proposal to demolish 120 York St going to committee Sept 21st.


Future surface parking lot or something better?



http://www.london.ca/business/Planni...0York%20St.pdf

[jammer139]

Guess parking lot is better revenue generator for 120 York St. since this fell thru.



https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/londo...arhi-1.4614492

[MolsonExport]

Schmuel strikes again!

[ssiguy]

Why are they putting it right downtown in the middle of a residential section near 2 high schools?

I can understand wanting a central location but why not on the other side of the tracks between Wellington and Adelaide? It is only a few blocks away so still accessible but is in an industrial zone. What am I missing?

[jammer139]

Application for demolition stalls at committee. Without a development plan, committee permit is being rejected. Would assume property taxes on the building even if empty are higher then a parking lot for decades.

Originally Posted by jammer139

Guess parking lot is better revenue generator for 120 York St. since this fell thru.



https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/londo...arhi-1.4614492

[jammer139]

Piling machine and bulldozers are active at Westmount estates east of the Loblaws. Empty lot just north of the most recent high rise. Could they be planning another tower here?

[jammer139]

Council approves demolition of 120 York St for surface parking lot. The Landlord will finally generate some revenue form the site now.

Originally Posted by jammer139

Application for demolition stalls at committee. Without a development plan, committee permit is being rejected. Would assume property taxes on the building even if empty are higher then a parking lot for decades.

[jammer139]

Sign up for sale for a number of the buildings on the NW corner of Adelaide and Dundas streets. Wonder if it will tempt a developer to purchase these buildings and attempt to build something. Heritage folks would come out of the rotting woodwork to complain I suspect. Also city would likely claim an easement along the frontage of Dundas and Adelaide for any project involving demolish of the buildings. The May Court store and former Harvey's would be tempting as well.