Residential tower at Richmond and Oxford gets green light, council also paves way for parking lots into housing

A pair of endorsements by London City Council Tuesday are expected to attract much needed housing to the downtown area.

Councillors have given the green light to a residential tower at the northern edge of Richmond Row. The property is situated at 743 Richmond St., the southwest corner of Oxford and Richmond streets.

“They actually have a lot of experience dealing with incredibly tight spaces and small footprints, and being able to turn those into transformative developments,” said Mayor Josh Morgan of Toronto-based developer Fritzrovia Real Estate.

The company plans to build at 35-storey mixed use tower at the site, an intersection notorious for heavy traffic, acknowledged Planning and Environment Committee Chair and Councillor Steve Lehman.

“And I know there’s going to be traffic disruption, there has to be. But as much as possible, to keep it in that alleyway, and at the side, away from shutting down lanes of traffic there,” he said.

The plan includes 512 apartments geared to students and other would-be downtown dwellers. The building will also have two floors of commercial space.

“It’s bringing in a lot of density and intensification into the downtown. So that’s one thing that we’re always trying to do,” said Ward 13 Coun. David Ferriera, in whose ward the building will be located.

“Also, it is right at the main north entrance to downtown, which is very significant,” he commented.

Initial plans allowed for only 77 parking spaces at the building. Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis says that’s a work in progress.

“They do have a plan that could add a fairly significant number of parking spaces, underground spots, but it will require a little bit of negotiation with the city,” Lewis explained.

Demolition of the existing building at the site, home to a former retailer, is expected to begin later this year.

Meanwhile, residential development could also be coming to the opposite end of downtown.

City Council has paved the way for a pair of municipally owned parking lots at Ridout and Horton streets to be developed into housing. The city will go ahead with a Request for Proposals later this year. But according to Mayor Morgan, a number of submissions have already been received, ranging between 450 and 600 units.

“This is kind of the southern end of what is a grassroots movement called The River District, where private sector, business owners, have come together to say, ‘We really want to brand this area that is a dynamic way, and get people excited about it.’ So, there could be a development here that plays into that. There’s a lot of potential for it,” said Morgan.

The former brownfield sites are being offered to developers in ‘as-is’ condition.