Skyline makeover
The twin towers will transform the look of downtown.
Here's some pics from the twin towers from the free press!
http://www.canoe.ca/LondonPDF/20060616.pdf
They're the new kids on the block on London's downtown skyline -- and now we finally know what they'll look like.
Developer Joe Carapella's planned $100-million, twin-tower project on the Ridout block would rise to new heights as the tallest downtown residential buildings.
They'd also extend the core's rebirth -- booming from new residential developments and the city's new arena -- to a block that's had nothing new, giving the downtown yet another anchor for growth.
"I have a lot of faith in London and the future of this city," Carapella said yesterday.
"London will grow and prosper. This is a triple-A location and warrants a project of this scale and magnitude," said Carapella.
Renderings provided by Carapella's Tricar Group show two gradually tapered towers rising to 28 storeys, each crowned at the top by an upward-sloping middle roof.
The towers will command a view below of some of the city's crown jewels, from the historic forks of the Thames to Covent Garden Market and the John Labatt Centre, the former courthouse and Museum London.
The project will contain 600 residential units and is expected to bring more than 1,000 people to live in the core.
City planner John Fleming has seen Carapella's drawings and praised the design.
"This is a very exciting project. It is fantastic for downtown revitalization," he said.
The site, overlooking key attractions and with shops and eateries nearby, is "ideal" for residential use, he added.
"I can't think of a better residential site downtown. This will add a sense of community and also provide a street life at night," he said.
Tricar has applied for site rezoning and has turned in a site plan to the city. It will go to planning committee in August and then to council.
If approved, construction could begin in the fall and the first building be ready for occupancy in about two years.
"This is exactly the kind of residential development we have always believed is critical for the downtown," said Mayor Ann Marie DeCicco.
"More people downtown will keep businesses in the core and attract new ones."
The 0.8-hectare site will also feature 1,000 parking spaces -- 300 in each tower, with five levels in each (one below ground and four above), and 400 in a five-level public parking garage between the towers.
The garage will feature a roof-top garden for tenants. The ground level will offer space for shops and stores.
The living units will range from 700 square feet to 2,200 square feet for the penthouse units, since Carapella wants the project to appeal to everyone from single people to empty-nesters.
Rents will range from $1,000 to $2,200 a month.
"There has to be wide appeal when you have these many units," Carapella said. "I know it is ambitious, but I think the city is ready for a project like this."
The project may also help ignite a "spark" downtown, building on the market, the JLC, the Central Library and restaurants and nightlife now in the core, said DeCicco.
"We need to create an energy, a spark of rejuvenation. The downtown is coming together and it is very exciting to see," she said.
Downtown businesspeople praise the proposal, saying they can't wait for more people to live and shop in the core.
"I just love the fact the downtown is growing again and way more people are moving downtown," said Shelley Shepherd, who works at Petacular on York Street.
"It will be fantastic. We need more people living down here, shopping here. London is so spread out. We need people here."
The city offers an incentive program waiving development fees and a property-tax rebate for 10 years for downtown residential developments.
Janette MacDonald, manager of MainStreet London, estimates Carapella saved more than $2 million in development fees alone on the project.
Carapella paid just under $5-million for the site, which doesn't include buildings on the eastern portion of the block. He also bought the car wash at Ridout and King streets.
"I have been committed to downtown for a long time," said Carapella, referring to Picton Place, a downtown residential development he built about eight years ago.
The twin towers will front on King and Ridout streets. The units will feature high-end finishes including large windows, nine-foot ceilings, ceramic tile, crown moulding and designer kitchens.
Carapella said the city has been "very bullish" on the project.
"The city has been unbelievably co-operative," he said. "Their mandate is to get development downtown and they will do whatever they can within reason. The sooner we get started on this, the better."
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