Farhi bid to move city hall to heart of downtown dismissed

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A last-ditch effort to get London city council to consider moving city hall to Dundas and Richmond streets fell flat Tuesday, but not without plenty of discussion.

An effort by councillors Peter Cuddy and Susan Stevenson to delay to September consideration of city hall’s plan to redevelop its present home at 300 Dufferin Ave., the adjacent apartment building, Reg Cooper Square and Centennial Hall failed in a tie vote of council Tuesday.

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“I don’t think we gave this proper consideration and the time that it deserved,” Cuddy said. “I think there’s a number of reasons why we need to consider relocation, at least consider the options that are available to us.”

A suggestion to halt the plan until the proposal from Farhi Holdings Corp. – which offered Market Tower, the Royal Bank building and the building joining the two – was evaluated and weighed against each other, also failed in a 10-4 vote.

Farhi Holdings Corp. outlined its proposal in a letter to politicians earlier this month. A consultant for the company said the plan would bring 1,000 workers to the heart of downtown, save the city millions of dollars and provide more space to building housing on city hall lands near Victoria Park.

Councillors Jerry Pribil, Paul Van Meerbergen, Steven Hillier and Steve Lehman voted to halt the city’s plan, and all four plus Stevenson, Cuddy and deputy mayor Shawn Lewis voted to defer the issue to a September meeting. Coun. Elizabeth Peloza was absent.

Cuddy argued a city hall on Richmond Street could contribute to the revitalization of the downtown, pointing to Western University and Fanshawe College’s presence, and also to attractions such as Budweiser Gardens and the Covent Garden Market.

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Stevenson added the gravity of the decision warranted more time to weigh all options.

“I don’t know how often this happens, that a city gets an unsolicited proposal of this magnitude,” she said. “If I understand, if we do not refer this … that we would in effect be squashing that, and there wouldn’t be due consideration of that.”

Politicians were eager to talk about it however, with the proposal being a part of their initial 45-minute closed session and a separate hour-long closed session devoted solely to the topic.

When they returned, however, the answer was much the same as during last week’s committee meeting decision.

“I don’t see the cost to renovate the Market Tower resulting in a lower cost, and I’m very firmly a believer that it’s going to be higher,” downtown Coun. David Ferreira said. “(This is) probably one of the biggest votes, the biggest projects, we’re going to see on this council,” he said.

Coun. Sam Trosow called the city’s redevelopment plan “fair and thorough,” and said city staff and council have done their due diligence on the matter.

“I’ve heard nothing that has changed my mind on this,” he said. “It’s about this particular property, but (the request for proposal is) open to anybody.”

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John Fleming, the founder of City Planning Solutions, the planning firm that submitted the proposal on behalf of Farhi Holdings Corp., could not be reached for comment on the decision Tuesday, nor could a representative of Farhi Holdings.

Ahead of the council meeting, Siskinds, a London law firm, wrote to council, arguing the proposal complied with the city’s normal process for reviewing unsolicited proposals, and should be fairly considered.

“The FHC unsolicited proposal for the project was submitted through the proper process, meets the criteria established for an unsolicited proposal, and in accordance with the city’s policies should be subject to the appropriate review and consideration by the city,” wrote Paula Lombardi, a partner at the firm.

With council approval to continue, city staff want to launch the bid process for private firms to get involved in the redevelopment of the city hall campus in early 2025.

City council has earmarked $125 million for the new city hall, money that was approved during the 2020-23 multi-year budget.

City staff are proposing building a new city hall next to the current civic headquarters, built in 1971. Staff also are proposing seeking a private partner to build a residential tower, too.

The goal is to consolidate city staff, now working at 12 locations around downtown at a cost of $3 million annually, under one roof and to create enough space to accommodate future hires as the city grows, staff say.

jmoulton@postmedia.com

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