Highrise building boom to transform London skyline

The highrise building boom in London shows no sign of slowing, city hall building officials say. The city has seven applications for apartment building permits — and during the last four years, 40 permits have been issued for apartment construction with about half of those being major towers of more than 100 units, said Peter Kokkoros, deputy chief building official with city hall.

“In five years, the skyline of this city will change completely,” Kokkoros said.

“There are a healthy number of apartment towers coming in the near future. Based on what is in the system now, and what council has approved, there is a significant amount of towers.” Although about half of the permits issued during the past four years are for more than 100 units, a bulk of the others are mid-rise, five to eight storeys. Only a few are two to three storeys, he said. At one recent city council meeting alone, more than 2,000 units were approved, including a massive $500-million, 1,300-unit development at Bostwick and Southdale roads in the city’s southwest. It seems no matter where you are in the city, a new highrise has been built or is planned. But the greatest concentration is downtown. Now, there are 15 proposed for London’s core. Although it is likely several will not be built, many will and that is when the skyline will change. “It is not slowing down,” Kokkoros said.

Kokkoros believes the tower boom began in about 2015, because the following year city hall issued permits for seven highrises of more than 100 units.

By comparison, in 2014 three permits were issued.

“I would say in 2015 there was some movement on an increase in building permit applications for highrises,” said Kokkoros.

As for who is building, established, experienced firms appear to be getting the job done, said Michael Tomazincic, an urban planner with city hall.

“Tricar is one builder that always seems to seek new development opportunities downtown, other big players are always looking, such as York, Drewlo and Old Oak,” he said. “The big players are in the highrise development game.”

Old Oak poured the foundation for a 32-storey tower at 515 Richmond St. this week. Another tower by Tricar, with 24 storeys, is under construction at 40 York St.

As for who will live in all these towers, city officials trust builders to know their market.

“The big threshold will be market demand, how many people wish to live in a highrise,” said Tomazincic. “We rely on the private sector to know their market. I don’t think there is a concern when you look at the apartment vacancy rate (1.8 per cent). Whatever is being built is being scooped up.”

The city and region has seen population growth more than double the recent average. The population rose by 8,600 in 2017 and more than 7,000 the year before, higher than the previous average growth of just more than 4,000 annually, so the need is there. “There is no shortage of optimism,” Tomazincic said. Demographics are also a factor. As the population ages, people want to get out of their suburban homes.

In addition, affordability has emerged as a key driver for the growth of highrise development in London, said Andrew Scott, the senior analyst with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. for the London area.

As home prices rise, some are looking for cheaper accommodation.

“A few things have happened. Market affordability has deteriorated. It’s an affordability issue,” said Scott.

“We have seen prices the last few years growing at double digits and incomes have not kept up. Supply has dropped quite a bit and condos have become affordable options,” he said.