2 massive towers, 2 very different councillor takes ahead of public meeting

If approved by city council, two massive towers proposed for the corner of King and Ridout streets will become the city's largest by far, dominating the western edge of London's downtown core. 

York Developments is proposing to build the pair of Toronto-style towers at heights of 53 and 43 storeys side-by-side at the corner overlooking Ivey Park and the Forks of the Thames River. The staggered towers will rise above a shared podium which itself will have three or four floors of retail space. The towers stand to bring 800 residential units to downtown.

To be approved, the development will require a re-zoning and an amendment to the city's official plan because the application exceeds the 35-storey maximum height for downtown.

The largest tower will have a height of 186 metres and be by far London's tallest structure — surpassing One Richmond Place which stands at 113 metres. The plan also calls for 550 vehicle parking spaces, along with parking for 300 bicycle spaces.

And while it will bring density and new residents to the core — two things called for in the London Plan — there are opponents who plan to speak against the development at Tuesday's planning committee meeting. 

Based on their written submissions on the committee agenda, a big concern is that the towers would sit next door to the former Middlesex County courthouse and jail, two heritage buildings that York bought when they outbid the City of London for the property in 2019.

The former jail and courthouse are heritage-designated, with the courthouse currently in use as the office of Middlesex County. The courthouse building, which dates from 1827, is also a National Historic Site of Canada. Those buildings won't be altered by the plan but critics worry the towers will crowd them out.

City staff are recommending the application be approved with a number of requirements, including reviews for any archaeological significance on the property and a plan to protect the courthouse building during construction. 

Among those opposed to the development is Brian Timney, who lives across the street at 19 King St. He said the towers are out-of-scale with the area. 

"Two buildings of that size would be completely overwhelming for this part of town," said Timney. "Traffic there is going to be a major issue. The demand for parking around here is going to skyrocket." 

He'd prefer to see a single tower on the site, which was previously approved by council. 

Coun. Lehman: A boon to downtown

Coun. Steve Lehman chairs the planning committee and said downtown towers are crucial to meeting the housing needs of a fast-growing city. 

"We will soon be a city of half a million people and big cities have big towers," said Lehman. "Demand for housing is at an all-time high and supply is not meeting that demand." 

Lehman said it's also a development that can help the city address climate change, given that its tenants will be able to walk to downtown attractions such as the Grand Theatre, Covent Garden Market and Budweiser Gardens. 

"The fact that a developer is willing to invest millions of dollars in this project speaks highly to the faith that developers have in downtown," he said. "If you look at the cranes in the sky, there are a lot of people that believe in our city." 

Coun. Ferreira: Towers will crowd heritage 

Ferreira, whose ward includes downtown, said he's concerned approving the towers in their current form sends a message that development trumps heritage. He said the courthouse and jail buildings are iconic and central to London's founding, and should not be crowded out so severely. 

"I have seen postcards of the city, an aerial view looking at the forks with the old courthouse in the background and that's the view of London that goes around," he said. "That postcard will be changed now to see that aerial view with those massive towers." 

The public participation meeting is set to start at 5 p.m. in council chambers. If approved at committee, the proposal will go to full council for final approval.