London, Ont. still has highest downtown office vacancy. But have we seen the worst of it?

In the wake of a report indicating London’s office vacancy is the highest in the country, what does the future look like in the core? Bryan Bicknell reports.

After 50 years in business in downtown London, Dan Hasson has pretty much seen it all.

But the Dundas Street clothier says he’s never seen foot traffic so slow since core area employees left their offices and went home to work.

“We used to buy here 60 to 80 suits a season to put on the rack. Now we do custom-only. There’s not enough business to warrant an investment,” Hasson explained.

There is hope that could soon change. According to CBRE, downtown London vacancy in the last quarter of 2025 was up slightly at 31.5 per cent - still the highest of any urban downtown in the country.

The good news is that it appears to be stabilizing, according to CBRE VP and Broker Greg Harris.

“At this moment in time that’s the positive and that it should lead to better things in the future. We shouldn’t see any large shocks to the market, and shouldn’t see any large groups vacating,” said Harris.

Harris points out that much of downtown’s available office space is older, making it less attractive. However, London Mayor Josh Morgan says multiple office-to-residential conversion projects will help the vacancy rate to trend in the right direction.

“So, this is not going to be a linear approach here. There’s going to be some ups and downs to,” Morgan cautioned. “But what I’m very happy to see is that programs like Office to Residential Conversion Program seem to be working in the quarters where we’re getting traction, and that’s why we put more money into that program, so we could see more applications coming forward, which will help us make improvements in the future.”

The Doug Ford government ordered public sector employees back to the office as of Jan. 1., and according to CBRE, a number of the larger private employers downtown are taking similar action, whether through mandates or encouragement.

That’s expected to breathe more life into the core. But for Dan Hasson Clothier, the return may be too late.

Hasson, 78, says he plans to retire in the next few months, and he hasn’t been able to find anyone to take over the business.

“I’ve dealt with two people who were interested. But it’s going to be difficult. Because they have to see the potential. And right now, it’s hard to see,” he said.