Address parking or else, city told

Sat, October 28, 2006

Shmuel Farhi, owner of 70-plus downtown buildings, says he'll raze them, invest elsewhere

By JOE BELANGER, FREE PRESS CITY HALL REPORTER

Downtown London's largest landowner says he'll let his buildings rot or raze them and divert $100 million in investments if the city doesn't help solve the core's parking problems. Welcome to Ground Zero of the biggest problem facing downtown landlords. Without long-term, off-street parking, the downtown "is going to die," Shmuel Farhi warned board of control yesterday in a special meeting. "If I can't maintain my heritage buildings, the city is going to have problems," said Farhi, whose company, Farhi Holdings Corp., owns more than 70 downtown properties. "If those buildings go dark . . . in 10 years those buildings are (going to have to be demolished). "Enough is enough. I'll put my heart in other communities. I'm asking you for help, to be a partner." Farhi later said: "I have a window of opportunity over the next six months to invest $100 million. Do you want it in London?" The meeting was hastily arranged by chief administrative officer Jeff Fielding and Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best, when Farhi said he wanted to demolish buildings at 204 and 206 Dundas St., the old Capitol Theatre and former Bowles Lunch Counter. "I felt there was a sense of urgency," DeCicco-Best said. Farhi "is the major landlord, a huge supporter of heritage buildings and he has huge challenges with unique properties like this. So we want to work to help wherever we can," DeCicco-Best said. Both buildings are listed as priority 1 in the city's inventory of heritage buildings. In June, city council approved a demolition permit for the rear portion of the theatre, provided Farhi left the facade and 500 square feet of commercial space. That would provide Farhi with about 50 parking spaces for nearby tenants. But Farhi now says he needs a long-term tenant for the rest of the building to make the estimated $500,000 in renovations feasible. Otherwise, Farhi said he'll demolish the facades and add another 20 spaces, urgently needed because he'll lose tenant parking space at Galleria on Jan. 1. City planners and heritage enthusiasts say if the buildings are demolished, a "gap-toothed hole" will be left in Dundas Street that would be a major setback to the core's revitalization. Further, they say, it could lead to a "domino" effect of buildings being demolished. DeCicco-Best mostly ignored normal rules of order to allow a free exchange between the sometimes explosive and passionate Farhi and controllers. Clearly, the board heard Farhi's message, instructing Fielding to find a deal to save the facades of the two Dundas Street buildings before Christmas. The board also asked staff to start work on a long-term parking strategy. The direction to staff must still be approved by city council at its next meeting Nov. 6. Farhi found an ally in Deputy Mayor Tom Gosnell, who this year chaired a downtown parking committee that recommended the city find a partner to build a parking garage. "Sometimes the city has to make investments to strengthen the core area," Gosnell said. "The longer we postpone making those investments, the more problems like this will arise and the core will suffer." It's been suggested the city lease the space at the former Capitol Theatre, moving some of its offices out of city hall. Farhi didn't make idle threats. "Legally, if I want to tear down 25 buildings downtown, there's nothing you can do about it," he said as city staff nodded. The city's demolition control bylaw only applies to residential property. Further, unless a commercial property is designated a heritage building, the city can't deny the owner a demolition permit, city staff said. Farhi has long pushed the city to find a solution to the core's parking problems. Though staff and consultants say the core has plenty of parking, Farhi, Gosnell and other landlords say there's no conveniently located long-term parking for long-term tenants in office buildings, leaving many vacant. Without parking, Farhi said companies downtown, or looking to come to London, will move to the suburbs.