London’s mayor Josh Morgan announced a new office-to-residential conversion on Tuesday. It’s the city’s third such project for the city, this one a partnership with Farhi Holdings. Work is already underway at 685 Richmond Street where they are taking almost 32,000 square feet of office space and converting it into 41 residential units that will house approximately 80 people. According to Morgan, “In the long run, people being on the street, people living here, are what supports the businesses in the area.” The offices in the four-storey building have been mostly empty for five years. Total office vacancy rates in the downtown have reached about 32 per cent, according to analysis from CBRE Limited. Morgan says the office conversions address three issues -- office vacancies, the demand for affordable housing and the goal of maintaining a vibrant downtown core. “The people who are going to live in this building are going to walk out the doors to support the businesses and the downtown core. They’re going to have opportunities to work in the downtown core as well,” said Morgan. Ilias Korakianitis and his family members operate Dimi’s Greek House, an eatery located close to where the conversion is taking place. He told those gathered for the announcement that having more downtown residents, along with increased policing and street maintenance, could bring significant improvements to the core. “If we want downtown to come back to life, we need leadership. We need support, and we need urgent action,” he said. Farhi Holdings owner Shmuel Farhi says the conversions also prevent buildings from falling to the wrecking ball. “Every building we adapt saves tons of concrete, glass, steel from the landfill,” said Farhi. The city has provided economic incentives amounting to about $35,000 per residential unit. Farhi told CTV News incentives are necessary because the conversions aren’t easy or cheap, pointing to the heating system as one example. “The heating that was for an office wasn’t conducive to heating for residential. So that’s another million dollars that we have to put there,” he said. Morgan said the money comes from the $85 million Housing Accelerator Fund which is supported with money from the federal government. He said more downtown residential conversions are coming, including a proposed 35 storey tower planned for the southwest corner of Oxford and Richmond, where retailer Urban Outfitters was once located. That project is being spearheaded by Toronto developer Fitzrovia Real Estate.
