Ottawa asks: What would you do with this empty downtown London building?

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Looking for a hot piece of real estate in the heart of downtown London? The federal government might just have what you need this fall.

The federal government has listed 56 of its properties on 305 hectares across the country on the public land bank, ranging from post offices to office buildings and military land. The goal, based on a commitment from the government’s housing plan, is to open up surplus land for home construction.

One property in London made the cut, a three-storey office building at northeast corner of Queens Avenue and Talbot Street near the centre of downtown.

“120 Queens Ave.: that’s a great spot,” said downtown Coun. David Ferreira. “There’s lots of development going on there as it is, lots of diversity in the types of housing that we’re going to see there, and this is just going to add to the mix.”

Known as the Lipton Building, it was constructed in 1956 and its custodian is listed as Public Services and Procurement Canada, according to federal government records. The building and the lot it sits on are completely federally owned.

All 3,529 square metres of office space within the building were once used by the government, but now sit vacant. Government records indicate the building is also in poor condition.

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For now the government is only seeking feedback from the development community for a potential lease on the land, which does not include the neighbouring parking lot. Only a handful of properties in the land bank in major cities are open for a formal request for proposal.

Regardless, Ferreira says any redevelopment would fit in, pointing to recent nearby projects such as across the street at Centuro. He says the area has infrastructure to support new development, including being on the downtown loop of the city’s bus rapid transit network.

“You see the development on Centuro, and you see the old courthouse location is being developed just down the street . . . the area is definitely showing its mark, and it’s still continuing to do so,” he said.

London North Centre Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos estimated that the building has been empty since as far back as 2010. The government is open to feedback from the private sector, but would prefer partnerships with non-profits in order to build affordable housing, he said.

“We do emphasize leasing, though, because that way we can ensure that it would be affordable housing that would be based here,” he said. “Instead of selling the properties and then hoping it goes to housing, I think there’s a lot to be said about keeping it under federal ownership.”

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Whether it involved bulldozing Lipton and building anew, or converting the building, the government is open to feedback from individuals and organizations who want to be involved, Fragiskatos said. A request for proposal will likely launch for the Lipton lot in November, and city council has already shown interest in rezoning it for housing, he added.

Ferreira’s main hope is for the “affordable” element of any potential development to ring true, specifically based on the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s definition of rent costing less than 30 per cent of a household’s before-tax income.

“My main wish would be that . . . once we actually see it to fruition, is a real affordable housing situation there,” he said.

The federal government having the power to set the terms could make more affordable rents possible, Ferreira said.

The Lipton Building is one of 55 buildings in London that the federal government uses, whether it’s fully owned by the Crown or leased out.

jmoulton@postmedia.com
@jackmoulton65

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