40-storey tower behind Banker's Row clears planning committee

A proposal to build a 40-storey tower beside the Thames River and threeheritage buildings on the Banker's Row section of Ridout Street has passed the city's planning committee by a 4-1 vote.

The development application put forward by Farhi Holdings Corporation calls for 280 residential units along with a mix of office and commercial space in a tower near the forks of the river at 435-451 Ridout St. N.

Most of the concerns about the application expressed at committee fell into two categories:

• Concerns about how the tower will affect the three yellow brick buildings, which date from the mid 1800s. The buildings were London's first banks. That section of Ridout is one of thecity's four national historic sites.
• Worries about flooding. A portion of the tower's footprint is on the floodplain of the Thames River next to Harris Park, an area that often floods in the spring.

City staff are recommending approval, and that endorsement appeared to carry weight with the planning committee members, with only Coun. Anna Hopkins voting against.

Members of the public also got their say. Many took issue with the location.

Maggie Whalley said the tower would be out of scale with everything it surrounds in particular the three yellow heritage buildings on Ridout Street.

"This development would diminish and trivialize these buildings," she said. "It would cut of views of the river and cut off downtown from the river."

Coun. Hopkins said she's concernedabout the tower's location. Although the proposal has the approval of the Upper Thames River Conservation authority, Hopkins pointed out that support comes with a number of conditions.

She also said there may are other open spaces in the core more suitable for tower.

"With all the surface parking available in downtown, to have the highest building developed on a flood plain and in a heritage district makes me question it," she said.

Coun. Shawn Lewis pointed to extensive work by the developer to get the application to the point where it has staff backing.

"We want to grow in and up in our downtown and for me there's no grounds for us to reject this application that I can see," said Lewis. "If there is one thing we can do to effectively bring back vibrancy downtown,it's about having people live downtown."

With the application now through planning committee, the proposal will next go to full council for approval.