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Many were planned. Now, they’re going up, some as high as 40 storeys. New high-rise residential towers are reshaping downtown London’s skyline with five new buildings, five more on the way and others proposed. Besides changing the core’s look and feel, the building boom could bring a downtown population explosion, with the five projects on the go adding 1,500 units and the five in the wings more than 2,000. Our Norman De Bono breaks down the boom.

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ALREADY UNDERWAY

Construction has begun on these residential high-rise towers in the core and some already are renting to tenants. They include:

515 Richmond St.

• Called: One Richmond Row
• Developer: Old Oak Properties
• Particulars: 32 storeys, 175 units
• Status: Under construction
• Across from St. Peters Basilica, this tower has a twisting modern design.
• The tower’s mix of 175 one- and two-bedroom units will be available for rent by year’s end for the lower floors, 2021 for the upper floors.

108 Fullarton St.

• Called: Centro. Known initially as the Camden Terrace site, it also will encompass 475-501 Talbot St. and 93-95 Dufferin Ave.
• Developer: Old Oak. Initially planned by Rygar Developments, Old Oak purchased the site from Rygar principal John Rodgers
• Particulars: $245 million, 652 units, plus 650-space parking garage and commercial space for lease on the main floor
• It may become the largest tower development west of Toronto, with two towers, one a rental building of about 40 storeys, the second a 232-unit condo building of 29 storeys
• The 40-storey tower will be 129-metres tall, topping One London Place (109 metres)
• Old Oak will rebuild the Camden Terrace façade, removed brick by brick and stored during demolition, in the lobby of the Centro development. Both heritage preservation moves were demanded by city politicians when the Rygar project was approved.

40 York St.

• Called: Riverwalk
• Developer: Tricar Group
• Particulars: 24-storey, 240-unit tower overlooking the Thames River, It’s address is also 320 Thames St., at York Street.
• Status: Nearing completion. Tricar already has rented about 80 apartments on the lower floors with some tenants moving in, in September.
• The rest of the tower will be completed next year.
• The site, on about half a hectare of land, is an amalgamation of three downtown properties on York Street, between Ridout Street North and Thames Street.

131 King St.

• Across from Covent Garden Market in what was a parking lot.
• Developer: York Developments
• Particulars: 31-storeys, 266 units plus 41 public parking spaces in underground garage, a public walkway connecting King and York streets and public art, among other features.

661-667 Talbot St.

• Former Locust Mount site
• Developer: Drewlo Development
• Particulars: 16-storeys, 236-units, plus two levels of underground parking with 133 spaces, and 38 surface parking spaces
• Former site of Locust Mount mansion, demolished in 2008 after a fire. The home had been built in 1853 by Elijah Leonard Jr. and was home to the Sisters of the Precious Blood monastery from 1923-77
• The development at Talbot and Mill streets also would see the road widened to accommodate traffic

IN THE WINGS

Builders have applied to develop the following projects:

195 Dundas St.

• Developer: Ayerswood Development
• Particulars: $300 million, three towers, 700 units between Dundas and King streets at Clarence Street on the site of the former London Mews downtown mall. A $45-million, 25-storey 140-unit tower at 195 Dundas St. is the first of the three planned high rises
• Status: The site plan has been approved and a building permit submitted to city hall. Ayerswood is preparing the site now and construction could be imminent
• The other two phases will see additional towers with about 230 and 250 units in each, built in what is now a parking lot between Dundas and King streets

556 Wellington St.

• Developer: GWL Realty Advisors, real estate development division of insurer Canada Life
• Particulars: Twin towers, one 18 storeys, the other 12 storeys with a parking garage at its base, 400 units across from Victoria Park, in what is now a parking lot beside Centennial Hall
• Status: Preparing a site plan application. The land is zoned for that size of building

124 St. James St.

• Developer: Grosvenor Development Corp.
• Particulars: 13 storeys, 122 units, includes lands at 112 St. James St. near Gibbons Park and the Thames River
• Status: Rezoning was approved by city council last year
• The development will be near Gibbons Park and the Thames River
• The neighbourhood features several other apartment towers as well as an established residential area development and single family homes

391 South St.

• Developer: Medallion
• Particulars: Two towers, 19- and 23-storeys, 620 units, on one hectare of land on the site of the former Victoria Hospital buildings
• Status: Deal has closed and site plan application is in process

 96 Ridout St. S.

• Developer: Tricar Group
• Particulars: 22 storey residential tower, 191 one- and two-bedroom units and a penthouse.
• Status: Rezoning was approved. Tricar has submitted a site plan.

PROPOSED

The following projects have been proposed by developers. Some are very ambitious, though the future of each is not yet clear:

50 King St.

• The property at forks of the Thames was bought by York Developments from Middlesex County, with plans to build a large, mixed-use development including a residential highrise
• No plans or applications before the city, not even an application for a zoning bylaw change

 560-562 Wellington St.

• Auburn Developments, a highly respected builder that’s developed much of downtown Waterloo, can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to a tower in its own city
• It has applied to build a 17-storey tower at Wellington and Wolfe streets, across from Victoria Park. It began as a 22-storey proposal but was scaled back after opposition from the Woodfield Community Association
• It is now on hold until city hall reviews all building around the park. That review is suggesting the Auburn site be limited to an eight-storey building

84-86 St. George St. and 175-197 Ann St.

• York Developments wants to build a three-part, 274-unit project near Oxford and Richmond streets. The three towers will step down from 28 storeys to 26 and then 12. It also will include commercial space
• A heritage site would be demolished, the former Kent brewery from 1883. Land is zoned for only 12-storey developments.
• City hall staff sent the proposal back to York with direction to reduce its scale

 809 Dundas St.

• Paramount Inc. has proposed two 24-storey towers with 480 units. City hall approved rezoning with a provision for some affordable housing and is now reviewing a site plan application for the development

 91 King St.

• This is the fourth downtown project York Developments has on its books, a 32-storey condo tower with 250 units, across from Budweiser Gardens
• First proposed in 2017, there were issues with nearby property owners that caused delays and York went on to build 131 King St.
• City hall planning staff describe 91 King as on hold

441 Ridout St. N

• Farhi Holdings Corp. has a rezoning application for a 40-storey tower with 280 units on Ridout Street at Queens Avenue across from Museum London.

183 King St.

• Southside Group wants to build a 25-storey, 200-unit tower.
• When developer Vito Frijia was denied an application to demolish a building on the site, he promised an appeal to what was then the Ontario Municipal Board, which adjudicates land-use decisions provincewide
• City hall planning staff say nothing has happened with the development

 Horton Street

• London International Academy wants to build a 16-storey student residence
• City hall staff are reviewing it application for rezoning

Victoria Park

City hall is now in the midst of developing the Victoria Park secondary plan, which will determine the extent of building around the park where several residential towers have been proposed. There are two proposals now, from Auburn and GWL Realty, to build nearby. No building will be approved until the secondary plan has been approved by city council, but an early draft of that plan would have allowed:

• Developments of 16 to 30 storeys on a wedge of land west of the park, including near St. Peter’s Basilica
• Buildings ranging from three to 10 storeys, depending on location, on Wellington Street, north of Wolfe Street and east of the park
• To the north of the park, buildings up to 16 storeys

ndebono@postmedia.com