New addition to London skyline would rank among region’s tallest buildings

New high-rise coming to downtown? A new high-rise is proposed for a parking lot next to the Hilton Double-Tree Hotel in downtown London. CTV London's Daryl Newcombe explains.

The high-rise building boom in downtown London, Ont. shows no sign of slowing down.

Holoway Lodging, the owner of the DoubleTree by Hilton, is seeking to rezone the property where its parking garage stands at the northwest corner of King and Waterloo streets.

An application submitted to city hall seeks permission to build a 35-storey, 435 unit, mixed use residential building at 300-320 King Street.

“Thirty-five [storeys], that’s a big tall building!” said neighbour Mike Couture. “We need that kind of development downtown and to support the businesses.”

Towering 110 meters above the ground, the new building would be among the tallest in southwestern Ontario.

However, a skyscraper on that specific property creates a unique challenge.

It would block a line-of-sight communications signal from the top of the City Centre building to London Police Services headquarters in Old East Village.

A consultant’s report recommends either installing a relay link or relocating all the police communications equipment onto the new building.

“We need to make [downtown] a community where people live if we are going to see downtown revitalization,” explained Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis.

Speaking about London’s housing targets to address the current crisis, Lewis said the southeast area of downtown London is in need of intensification.

He’d like to see more applications for parking lots and underutilized properties near the RBC Place Convention Centre.

“This is exactly the type of development that was envisioned when King Street was designated as a rapid transit corridor,” he said. “This is not only a win for our housing targets, but in terms of the overall burden on infrastructure and what it means for the property taxpayer — it’s a win for them as well.

The rezoning request for the 35-storey high rise will be considered by city council in the new year.