Economy Thread

[Blitz]

I wouldn't choose Kitchener over London...other than the proximity to Toronto I don't see much more that K/W has to offer. At least London has somewhat of a defined CBD. However, the rest of London (outside of the core, Old North, and Old South) is a sprawling mess and the traffic really sucks.
Windsor might be stagnant and "decaying" and its downtown has seen better days, but overall to me (when taking into account the entire city) it feels like more of a real city than London does. The neighbourhoods are much more dense in Windsor and they have more character.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Blitz

Windsor might be stagnant and "decaying" and its downtown has seen better days, but overall to me (when taking into account the entire city) it feels like more of a real city than London does. The neighbourhoods are much more dense in Windsor and they have more character.

Windsor may be a slowly decaying city, but they get a lot more tourism than London does. A lot of folks will cross the boarder from the USA just to see what Canada looks like and how we live our lives. Windsor isn't the best example but it's there.

The same can be said about Kitchener and Waterloo. They get way more tourism than London, and also they're just an hour (or so) drive from the GTA. Also that cluster of smaller sized cities (less than 100k) in and around Waterloo Region drive people to these cities.

Waterloo Region... Durham Region, York Region etc. Does London have a region? No, it doesn't. There's nothing around us.

Sorry I confused people on the last page about Saint Thomas not being included in our metro area. It is, but I feel that it shouldn't be. To me metro means urban areas right next London's city limits or are a short amount of time away with good connections between cities. The links to Saint Thomas from London are a joke.

London's crazy-huge CMA according to Statscan:


What I think our CMA should look like:

(Note some of the city limits aren't in here. The 402/401 corridor make up London's southern edge.)

That red circle is very rough, but pretty much everything outside of it comprises of a bunch of farms and small towns, not really "metro" if you ask me. Saint Thomas is too far away and/or lacks proper transportation connections to be considered part of London's CMA, at least in my opinion.

[Simpseatles]

^Good map haljackey. It's kinda hard to see what places are included in the CMA. I find it interesting to see what Londoners consider to be commuter towns.

In my opinion, Strathroy, Dorchester,and Komoka-Kilworth, are some main ones. Also, St. Thomas and London are very closely related, and many people commute between the 2 cities. How well connected with roads and transit the two are is a different matter. The fact is that St.Thoms is the largest city within close proximity to London.

The kind of well connected metro areas you describe, sound more like the mess you'd find in American cities. Our sprawl is much denser here and it's quite apparent when your in the city, and when your not.

Another reason for us not having a well connected "region" may be because there aren't many large, older developed places close to the city, like how K-W and Cambridge grew together. Even nearby places like Elmira, Guelph, Paris, or Brantford were already well established towns a century ago. So I guess my argument would have to be that London's region has always been generally less densely populated. That's just the way it is. K-W developed into an interconnected region, and London just became bloated, and sprawly, with most development within the city limits.


Also, I'd have to agree with Blitz, that Windsor has more of a big-city feel. I think it's a combination of the Detroit proximity, the industry, the mostly grid pattern roads, the expressway, and the river. But when people cross the border from inner-city Detroit, Windsor must look like heaven in comparison!

Originally Posted by haljackey

The same can be said about Kitchener and Waterloo. They get way more tourism than London, and also they're just an hour (or so) drive from the GTA. Also that cluster of smaller sized cities (less than 100k) in and around Waterloo Region drive people to these cities.

Mid-western Ontario is weird in a ways. With the exception of Oktoberfest (2 weeks a year), the tri-cities don't get a lot of tourism, despite being the major urban centre of the area.

Where there is a lot of tourism is in the small towns within a 30 minute drive of the city. The most obvious one is St. Jacobs (both the village and the market), followed by Stratford, and Elora-Fergus.

I think this is what contributes (falsely) to KW's rural identity, from people who've never been/don't know any better. Some people expect everyone to be German and driving horses and buggies down King street, lol.

I think part of what makes these towns such magnets for tourism is not just the locals supporting their businesses, but a lot of Torontonians come out to patronize the local shops. It's sort of like how Toronto created cottage country, with their insatiable appetite for 'authentic' (yeah right ) small town/country life.

I can't think of any towns like these near London. It probably has something to do with London's (relative, but not really...this is Canada) isolation. And quite frankly, Woodstock isn't that pretty.

Originally Posted by haljackey

Waterloo Region... Durham Region, York Region etc. Does London have a region? No, it doesn't. There's nothing around us.

"Region" is a purely political term in this case. There similarly non-isolated places that aren't part of a regional municipality. Guelph, for instance, is a separate city, surrounded by the County of Wellington, even though its smack between Waterloo and Halton Regions (GTA west).

Originally Posted by haljackey

That red circle is very rough, but pretty much everything outside of it comprises of a bunch of farms and small towns, not really "metro" if you ask me. Saint Thomas is too far away and/or lacks proper transportation connections to be considered part of London's CMA, at least in my opinion.

The CMA boundaries aren't created arbitrarily (or at least, they're not supposed to be). There's 2 reasons a census agglomeration (as St. Thomas would otherwise be) can be included into a nearby CMA.

1) Statscan determines there is enough continuity in urban development between the two. Obviously St. Thomas fails by this metric. But obviously, Waterloo and Cambridge were included into Kitchener using this rule.

2) 50% of the CA's labour force must commute to the CMA's urban core (in this case, the City of London) for work or 25% of the labour force working in the CA must commute from the urban core. Either St. Thomas is a major bedroom community or Statscan did something wrong (or I am misinformed and there are other ways CAs can be included).

[haljackey]

Very good points you two. I enjoyed reading your posts.

I agree that "regions" can be political terms, and "CMA"s can be more economic. I guess under this classification I can see how Saint Thomas fits into London's metro area. My rationale was primarily based on geography and transportation, and under these classifications I think Saint Thomas fails to qualify for metro status.

No offense to anyone living in the Thomas... It's just your relative location that's all.


Back on topic, London's new unemployment numbers came out today. This "metro area"'s rate has risen to over 8%. (Of course the numbers/economy within the city limits are better but we have a long way to go.)
-What's worse is that the Saint Thomas Ford assembly plant is set to close soon, which will probably drive up these numbers. And then there's the whole situation at Electro-Motive and elsewhere... Fun.

[ldoto]

3M Canada is getting a $15 million makeover.

The Industrial giant’s national head office in London will see its Tartan Dr. office tower expanded and spruced up, and its Oxford St. manufacturing plant get a new entrance, to give the corporation a new look.

“It is going to be a great building when it is done,” said Greg Snow, 3M spokesperson. “We are at a point where repairs need to be made and we want to make the office more attractive and expand it.”

The company is planning a five-storey, 30,000-square-foot addition to the Tartan Dr. office building where it will consolidate most of its administrative operations. The new addition will extend from the west wall of the existing building.

Some sections of the Oxford St. plant will be demolished and a new facade and entrance built. Laboratory facilities and manufacturing staff will continue to work out of the Oxford St. site.

“When this project is fully completed in 2013, 3M Canada will have signature facilities in London that proudly reflect the 3M brand as well as our region’s identity,” Brian Young, president and general manager of 3M Canada, said in a statement.

Renovations will begin next year and construction of the addition will begin in 2012, and it will be completed by 2013. The renovation will include refurbishing meeting rooms, offices, and public areas in the 20-year-old building. It also will feature a rooftop patio, auditorium and open-concept office plan.

The Tartan Dr. office is at Veterans Memorial Parkway and Trafalgar St

[MolsonExport]

Scotch tape, not flint. Mending, not fixing.

[ldoto]

Labatt's move to brew Keith's in London may prove a job saver

Keith's is coming to London.

Labatt Breweries is moving some of the production of its popular ale here from Halifax — a win for the city that is certain to save jobs.

"We could have seen job losses here but this will make sure we do not have those issues," Dave Bridger, president of the Service Employees Union representing Labatt workers, said Tuesday.

London will get 250,000 hectoliters of beer, about three million cases of added work, in the new year. The move comes as Labatt wants to brew the beer closer to its drinkers.

"Keith's has become so popular across Canada, and is poised for future growth so we want to brew it close to where it is consumed," said Jeff Ryan, director of corporate affairs for Labatt.

The move will also mean "efficiencies" for the beer maker, as it will cost less to ship to Ontario consumers, he added.

"It is really positive, we are keeping jobs here and it will mean future opportunity," said London Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best.

She pointed to a city council decision to keep water rates for industry low as one reason Labatt chose London. Labatt is also moving production of Keith's to breweries in Montreal and British Columbia.

"It is confirmation we did the right thing, it kept us competitive," she said.

It is the second big win for the Horton Street brewery, which in March saw beer production from Labatt's Hamilton Lakeport breweries shipped here.

The London plant may have been looking at job losses as it will lose beer production exported to the U.S. by March, 2012 as a result of a U.S. Justice Department ruling in 2008

[haljackey]

To be honest, I always thought Kieth's was already brewed here... being that it and Labatt are both owned by the same foreign company.

Other than the microbrews, what beer brands are still Canadian owned? Molson, Labatt and Sleeman are gone... what's left? Moosehead promotes itself as being Canada's oldest independent brewery, but is it the largest?

[MolsonExport]

^I'm sorry but that sucks for Nova Scotia, and dare I say, Keith's. Just like when Kokanee was being brewed in Ontario (and the asswipes still put glacier-water beer, etc. on the cans).

I think less of Keiths; one of the few mainstream Canadian beers that is drinkable.

[MolsonExport]

She pointed to a city council decision to keep water rates for industry low

Yeah, but I end up paying them instead (my rates go up 3x inflation rate. Thanks AM-deCB. Keep patting yourself on the back...don't let the door hit your arse on the way out. )

[Simpseatles]

SPECIAL REPORT: The London region solidified its growing military-industrial complex Friday with the opening of the $40-million Armatec plant in Thames Centre.

By Norman de Bono, The London Free Press


Visiting a military hospital in Germany, Glen Pearson saw firsthand what Armatec does, and it hit home.

The London-North-Centre MP saw young soldiers, badly wounded from battle in Iraq.

“They were messed up, it was bad stuff,” he said of the soldiers hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) as they rode in a vehicle.

But, when other soldiers were brought in, their injuries were not nearly as severe.

“The emergency doctor said to me ‘I do not know who the people are who designed the protection system for these troops, but they saved lives today,’ ” Pearson said.

At the opening Friday of the $40-million Armatec plant in Thames Centre — the latest boost to London’s growing military-industrial sector — Pearson had an answer for that military doctor.

He introduced Karl Pfister, chief executive of Armatec, maker of the armoured system that saved those soldiers’ lives, at the opening of Armatec’s 300,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing plant. The opening is the first phase of what promises to be a sprawling military manufacturing complex rising in the fields of Dorchester.

“This is about the worst possible moment in a life, about protecting someone when the worst possible thing can happen and Armatec is there — it makes sure they return to us,” Pearson told nearly 200 business and political officials gathered in the lobby of the factory at Catherine and Shaw streets for the opening.

“I am so proud to be here today, proud of what this company has done for our military — thank you for their lives,” Pearson told Pfister.

More than just a win for Dorchester and Thames Centre, the Armatec development helps solidify the region as a military centre, along with industries such as armoured vehicle giant General Dynamics Land Systems Canada. And next year, Konsberg, which makes weapons and optic systems for armoured vehicles, will open a plant in London and employ.

“Really, this is a regional announcement. It is growth in what is an important part of our military sector. It is where we are growing,” said Steve Glickman, director of business retention for the London Economic Development Corp. “Just think of all the Armatec workers living in London, of all the supply chain that is in London.”

London and region has a growing military cluster. About 40 businesses employ more than 12,000 in the defence sector.

Determined to contribute to the growth of those numbers Pfister says the new Armatec plant is just the beginning.

For one thing, he’s bidding with Mercedes Benz on a $1.1-billion deal to supply trucks to the Canadian military. Then, in the spring, the second phase of building the Da Vinci Business Park — where his business is located — will begin. That means 10 to 12 military suppliers will move on site, eating up much of the land in the park.

“The next phase is coming, the excitement will continue,” Pfister said.

The plant is also prepared for growth, able to handle 800 workers on two shifts, he added.

The Da Vinci Business Park is 80 acres, 68 of which can be developed. Armatec takes up 20, leaving 48 acres for suppliers, as well as other businesses, said Aileen Murray, manager of economic development for Middlesex County.

The new Armatec building has state-of-the-art green technology, including geothermal heating, radiant floor heating and lights that dim as the room brightens. Every space is lit with natural light, important in the creative and innovative process critical to good engineering.

As a symbol of that balance between engineering and creativity, Pfister has adorned the walls of his lobby with massive murals of works by Leonardo Da Vinci, including drawings of the first tank, and the human body — two things Armatec works to protect.

“Everyone has access to windows, to see the outside,” he said. “We have to think outside the box."
ARMATEC ARMOUR

It is sprayed on to vehicle surfaces, or laid on like a cloth, to fit different shapes and surfaces.

Its seating systems are suspended from the ceiling and don’t touch the floor. Nor do the soldier’s feet. The floor and seat, as well as the vehicle, then absorb the impact of a blast, not the person.

[ldoto]

A London manufacturer has landed a $138-million deal to supply military armour to the U.S. government.

Defence giant General Dynamic Land Systems Canada, maker of light armoured vehicles, will send 82 LAV II vehicles to the U.S., which will in turn flip them to another government, Ken Yamashita, GDLS Canada spokesperson, said Tuesday.

“We are very happy about this. It is part of our foreign military sales program, where we sell government to government, and they will then be sold to an allied nation,” he said.

GDLS will sell through the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown agency of the Canadian government, he added.

“It just one way we do this. It is another way we can sell vehicles, a different sales channel,” Yamashita said.

The vehicles will begin rolling off the Oxford St. assembly line early in 2012, and may take up to two years to complete.

While no new jobs will be added as a result of the deal, it offers stability to the more than 2,000 working at the plant.

It also supplies the LAV III, a larger armoured vehicle, to both Canadian and U.S. military, including the Stryker, which is used in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But the LAV II, a vehicle with 300­ horsepower and weighing 14,500 kilograms, “remains a very popular vehicle for us,” Yamashita said. “We have a lot of LAV IIs with the Canadian and U.S. military.”

The deal will see four “variants” — versions of the vehicle — manufactured in London, including ones with a 25­-miilimetre turret, a mortar carrier for firing mortar shells, a recovery vehicle used for rescuing other vehicles and an ambulance.

“This order underscores the continued relevance of these proven combat vehicles in modern military forces. We are pleased to be working once again . . . in support of their foreign military sales program,” Sridhar Sridharan, senior vice-president of General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, said in a release.

The deal comes soon after GDLS landed a contract, which may total up to $1 billion, to upgrade light armoured vehicles for the Canadian forces.

As well, last month, GDLS Canada landed $328 million in new deals, supplying upgrades for the U.S. Marine Corps Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program, the RG-31 Mk5E.

It is also bidding on two other new vehicles for the Canadian Forces: a close combat vehicle in a contract worth $2 billion and a tactical armored patrol vehicle in a deal worth about $1 billion

[ldoto]

Cami in Ingersoll says it's making another round of new hires.

Revved up demand for the G-M-C Terrain and Chevy Equinox mean more than 100 new hires are being made at the Ingersoll auto plant in January.

There were 51 added this week, but there are 50 more to come in two more groups before the end of the month.

That will bring the total number of workers at the Ingersoll auto plant to 27-hundred.

About 850 jobs have been added to the Ingersoll plant in recent months.

[ldoto]

OFFICE SPACE: Landlord says he may add another floor of tenants

That sound you hear is 700 Bell Canada workers breathing a sigh of relief.

The workforce at the downtown London office learned through the media they’ll be staying at 100 Dundas St. for the long haul, since the communications company signed a long-term lease.

“I have been trying to keep up to speed on negotiations. Everyone here has been watching this very closely,” said Noel Burgon, president of Local 6005, of Communication Energy and Paperworkers union.

Following media reports, Bell made it official Wednesday, saying it’s signed a lease to stay at the core building owned by London developer Shmuel Farhi.

“Some of us were preparing to move wherever our work moved. There was a lot of concern here,” said Burgon, who questioned why Bell didn’t tell workers when the deal was signed.

Bell Canada declined comment.

Sources say the deal is for 10 more years, keeping the workers downtown until 2022

But in its Wednesday announcement, Bell told workers the deal is “flexible” and that worries Burgon.

In the past, Bell has wanted to reduce its space in the building from five floors to three. But the lease agreement has it remaining on five floors.

Burgon is worried the “flexibility” Bell sought may see it eventually scale back to three floors, reducing the workforce as that happens.

“They say the deal is flexible and that has me worried. It is open for interpretation,” said Burgon. “London has been the centre of a lot of cuts here for several years.”

Bell once employed 2,400 in London and as recently as 2004 had more than 1,200 workers.

“Right now we are just feeling some relief. The lease is signed long-term. It is nice to see Bell is committed to London,” said Burgon.

“I am just happy the lease is signed and we can move forward.”

Of the 700 workers at 100 Dundas St., 450 are members of the CEP local.

Building owner Farhi also is relieved the deal is done, adding Bell demanded “flexibility” in talks.

“It was the only way I could work with them, but there are so many positive things here. We were both happy at the table . . . The most important thing is that there is a commitment to this city and its workers,” he said.

Farhi is confident Bell will have company by year-end, since he may lease out a full floor of the building, he said.

“I am getting a lot of calls. People want to be here, but it has to work (with) the Bell tenancy,” he said of future tenants.

The Bell building has been linked to city hall’s future since city manager Jeff Fielding last fall said the city was discussing whether or not to make an offer for the tower.

London’s city hall is crowded and filled with asbestos. Estimates to repair and renovate it may top $30 million and it could cost as much as $80 million for a new building.

Farhi has offered to lease space to the city, and that offer still stands, at a rate of $5 a square foot.

“I would welcome any discussions if they would like to speak with us,” said Farhi.

London Mayor Joe Fontana said this week a lease deal with Farhi and Bell for city space is “still on the table” for him.

Fielding added Wednesday a report to city council on options for a new or revamped city hall, including the Bell building, will go to council.

“Administration continues to review all the options for accommodating municipal services in London, including the Bell building, and assess the financial investment in the corporation’s facilities assets,” Fielding said in an e-mail exchange.

[ldoto]

Mall sold, Minto Group gains foothold in London market

Cherryhill Mall and 13 apartment towers surrounding it have been sold by a long-time London business family in a deal reportedly worth about $200 million, making it one of the city’s largest residential real-estate transactions ever.

“It was hard, it was our dad’s, but things have converged and it was the right time to sell, a good time to sell,” said Harvey Katz, property manager at Esam Group, a business founded by his father, Sam Katz, in the 1950s, along with business partner Ewald Bierbaum, who went on to found Old Oak Properties.

“We found a buyer who will continue on with our values, they get it, they understand the community. This honours dad’s memory.”

Cherryhill Village also includes an apartment building on Proudfoot Lane and commercial space housing a medical office.

The property has been sold to Minto Group a residential and commercial developer with properties in Toronto and Ottawa.

Property values for residential property remains high and interest rates are low, so the timing seems right. It will also allow Katz to devote more time to his church, in which he is active and his brother is the minister, Open Door Christian Fellowship.

“There are both personal and professional reasons that this is the right time,.” said Katz. “It is not easy to sell large real estate properties. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Katz and officials with Minto both declined comment on the value of the real estate deal, but London business sources say it sold for about $200 million.

“We are delighted to be associated now with one of the prime residential opportunities in London,” said John Stang, executive vice-president of Minto apartments, which is looking to diversify its holdings.

“Our focus is now to enter other markets and London is a great community, a solid community, but there have not been many opportunities to buy in London.

The deal is scheduled to close in March and includes 2,326 apartment units in 13 buildings, the 150,000 sq. ft mall and a 30,000 square foot medical office.

The deal is a ringing endorsement for the city’s residential and commercial real estate sector, signaling big players are looking at London, said George Georgopoulos, realtor with ReMax Advantage International in London.

“London is one of the strongest residential real estate markets in Canada. Vacancy rates are low and it is quality housing,” he said.

“People have been eyeballing London. We have an ideal location here.”

He is not surprised Cherryhill Village was snapped up, saying large, quality real estate properties, with stable tenant base, are rarely on the market.

“It is a gem, just a gem. I think a lot of investors will be disappointed they did not get in on this.”

Minto is not planning any changes to the apartments or mall, said Stang.

The deal is also steeped in London business history. Esam Group was founded by business partners and friends Sam Katz, a builder, and Ewald Bierbaum, a bricklayer, in the 1950s. Bierbaum was a German Catholic, whose children went on to become prominent London developers, and Katz was a Holocaust survivor.

“My dad always said he never blamed the German people, he blamed the Nazis. My dad never had prejudice about the Germans,” said Katz.

Sam was known as the Mayor of Cherryhill as he knew the mall tenants and many of those in the apartment towers, and could be seen strolling through the properties and talking with his tenants.

Sam Katz died in 2001 at age 83. He had been forced into a labour camp for five years during the Second World War. When he emerged, he found he and his sister were all that was left of his family. He arrived in Canada in 1949.

The Bierbaum family no longer holds interest in the Esam Group, after they left the partnership in 1989.

Despite amassing a real estate empire, Katz died in a small home on Tecumseh Avenue in Old South that he built for his father and where his wife Gilda, 78, lives today.

“He knew everybody, he was a touch of class,” Georgopoulos, said of the father.

Esam Group still has other properties including Fleetway Bowling, Costco, and large tracts of undeveloped land, so it is still in business, said Katz.

The sale may result in some jobs losses in the Esam Group office, but it is not yet known how many.

Georgopoulos sees the deal as a transfer of property from one established business family to another, as Minto was founded by four brothers, members of the Greenberg family, in 1955.

Minto has 14,000 apartment units and commercial space including Minto Place in Ottawa and Minto Midtown in Toronto.

Some of London’s biggest commercial real estate deals:

— March, 2011, $200 million for Cherryhill Village, 13 apartment towers, Cherryhill Mall and a medical office.

— October, 2004, White Oaks mall sold for $171 million to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Osmington inc. in Toronto, from London’s Rubinoff family.

Esam Group

Founded by Sam Katz, partner Ewald Bierbaum, in the 1950s

Sam was known as the Mayor of Cherryhill, strolling through the properties chatting it up with tenants

[Snark]

Minto is a giant corporation. They certainly have nothing to do with London (nor care), not as locals Bierbaum and ESAM did. That said, they are old and no one local will carry the torch. Ge0rg... is just the.... facilitator (...)

shame

Changing of the guard.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by Snark

Minto is a giant corporation. They certainly have nothing to do with London (nor care), not as locals Bierbaum and ESAM did. That said, they are old and no one local will carry the torch. Ge0rg... is just the.... facilitator (...)

shame

Changing of the guard.

Real shame, agreed. When my grandmother lived in the Cherryhill apartments I found them very well-maintained, and the mall was very well kept. The ownership was very well-connected with the community.

[manny_santos]

Reading through the posts about St. Thomas and the London CMA - there was a time the London CMA merely consisted of the City of London, Westminster Township, and London Township. Nothing in Elgin County, nor Strathroy were part of the London CMA, although St. Thomas was its own CA. I'm not sure when this changed.

My guess is that the huge number of manufacturing jobs in St. Thomas prior to 2008 consisted of a sizable number of London residents. Having the elementary and secondary schools in St. Thomas be part of the Thames Valley District and London District Catholic school boards certainly contributes to commuting between London and St. Thomas on the part of teachers and school employees.

[haljackey]

I really enjoyed reading an article that was in the London Free Press today discussing development along the 401 and 402 corridors.

Which way the future?

LONDON'S ECONOMY: URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY



Damn the torpedoes and naysayers, too: London Mayor Joe Fontana says city hall must unroll the welcome mat for development along Hwys. 401 and 402 by year's end.

"Let me be as blunt as possible. We need to and must develop that area as quickly as possible," he said Tuesday.

To develop the area, the city would have to build roads, sewers, water pipes and perhaps a sewage treatment plant -- a major undertaking.

But before Fontana can call on backhoes and diggers he must clear obstacles of a political sort.

City council has, for years, resisted calls to put in pipes and roads and treatment plants for areas of the city that are far from the core and not part of the city's 20-year plans for development.

The so-called Urban Growth Boundary gained notoriety in 2008 when council last term wouldn't give the go-ahead to plans by Sun Life Financial to build an industrial park on the wrong side of the boundary. Resisters argued the cost to build public works to service the park were prohibitive compared to a more modest benefit of jobs and tax revenue.

Now the growth boundary returns to a spotlight shone by a mayor who, in his first weeks in office, seized attention by acting forcibly.

Fontana wants industrial development on the 401 from Veterans Memorial Highway to the 402 and on the 402 up to Col. Talbot Rd.

Two stretches along those highways aren't within the growth boundary -- all of the 402 and the 401 from Veterans to about three or four kilometres to the east.

It's not just a boundary that's a barrier -- some council members are worried about costs.

Coun. Paul Hubert was a bellwether for development last term and a key swing vote. He and others are concerned Fontana's plan would either mean higher taxes, fewer services, greater debt or raids on reserves.

"We are open for business but at what cost?" Hubert said.

Such a question Monday led council to direct staff to quickly develop an estimate on the costs of making the highway lands ready for development -- a report will be presented to politicians Feb. 14.

Hubert wants the city to have more of a presence along the 401. But that must be considered with taxpayers in mind, he said.

"If you're going to hold the line on taxes you have to hold the line on expenditures," he said.

But Fontana pooh-poohs the costs, saying the benefits of jobs and tax revenue would be so great they would surely trump any costs.

He said he wants to see shovels in the ground by 2012 or 2013.

"We need a presence out there," said Fontana, who added he'd shake every tree for revenue, including the province, the federal government, the private sector and even taxpayers.

Coun. Nancy Branscombe praised his optimism but noted upper level governments, deeply in debt, aren't readily handing out cheques. She said she won't assume the numbers make sense until she sees them.

"There may not be enough money," she said.

Also taking a "show me" attitude is rookie Coun. Matt Brown. "What's the business case? What's the costs? What's the benefits?" he asked.

There appears to be some support to take a baby step toward development on the highways corridor -- conducting an assessment on what would be involved extending Veterans south of 401 to Wilton Grove Rd. a But Hubert said even an assessment might cost several hundred thousand dollars and taxpayers would have to pick up the tab.

401/402 interchange: City has asked Ontario for $40-million to upgrade 401 interchange at Veterans Memorial Parkway, create new one at Wonderland Rd

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2.../17037376.html


-------------------------------------------------------


My comments:

I'm a huge proponent in developing these areas and am glad to see the media/city talking about it.

Let me list the advantages of extending the urban growth boundary south to accommodate the 401 and 402 corridors:

-Makes London look bigger to those passing by the town. Ask any average Joe outside Southwest Ontario and they'll tell you London has like 50,000 people and don't know a single thing about the city.

-Adds jobs to one of the hardest hit Canadian cities from the recession. Jobs will be created developing these lands, constructing the buildings and working in the buildings.

-Strategic location. Nearly all industry wants to locate near a major transport corridor to maximize efficiency and minimize costs. Does the city and its residents want transport trucks heavily using arterials? (just look at Highbury!) Building close to highways keeps the trucks off our streets and is more attractive to the developer/business.

-Improving interchanges. London does not have a highway for local traffic, so improving/building more interchanges to the 401 and 402 should a priority, especially since a big chunk of funding comes from the province/MTO. Wonderland/401 is seriously needed, and improvements to the VMP are warranted if it remains a free-flowing interchange (no intersections!).

The LEDC has been pushing this for years. Let's hope the city gets behind it and gets'er done. This should have been completed decades ago.