ldoto
July 7th, 2005, 02:16 AM
:cheers: Downtown London's population is poised to grow again with a new six-storey, 40-unit condominium building rising on the site of a former bingo hall on Colborne Street.
Demolition work is underway on the Colborne Community Centre at 435 Colborne St., across from Catholic Central high school.
The project is being developed by a subsidiary of Prespa Construction, based in St. Thomas.
"These will be high-end units, a beautiful building with top-of-the line finishes," said company president Frank Sherifi.
The building will have a commercial unit on the ground floor.
Sherifi said the company has constructed residential housing in St. Thomas and a condo project in Port Dover, but the Colborne Street building is its first project in London.
Alanna Riley of the city's planning department said the site is zoned for a maximum 30 units, but Prespa was granted 10 extra "bonus" units because the design closely follows city guidelines for the historic area and includes two floors of underground parking.
Ward 2 Coun. Rob Alder said the city's investment in downtown amenities such as the Central Library and John Labatt Centre is now starting to pay off in a series of new residential projects.
"The more residential units we have downtown, the more retail and services will we have there. It will turn the downtown around."
Developers are recognizing the popularity of downtown living, he added.
"We are moving towards intensification, a smart-growth approach and some people are quite comfortable in higher density developments," Alder said.
The community centre was constructed in 1934 as the Gospel Temple.
It was bought by the Catholic school board and also served as a Catholic cultural centre. More recently, a bingo hall operated in the building for 16 years until it was shut down and vacated two years ago.
When the prior owner applied for a rezoning to residential use in 2003, there was an application for a heritage designation.
But Riley said the designation was not applied because the London Advisory Committee on Heritage said the building did not warrant designation.
Sherifi said the existing building was in poor shape and could not be salvaged.
Copyright © The London Free Press
Demolition work is underway on the Colborne Community Centre at 435 Colborne St., across from Catholic Central high school.
The project is being developed by a subsidiary of Prespa Construction, based in St. Thomas.
"These will be high-end units, a beautiful building with top-of-the line finishes," said company president Frank Sherifi.
The building will have a commercial unit on the ground floor.
Sherifi said the company has constructed residential housing in St. Thomas and a condo project in Port Dover, but the Colborne Street building is its first project in London.
Alanna Riley of the city's planning department said the site is zoned for a maximum 30 units, but Prespa was granted 10 extra "bonus" units because the design closely follows city guidelines for the historic area and includes two floors of underground parking.
Ward 2 Coun. Rob Alder said the city's investment in downtown amenities such as the Central Library and John Labatt Centre is now starting to pay off in a series of new residential projects.
"The more residential units we have downtown, the more retail and services will we have there. It will turn the downtown around."
Developers are recognizing the popularity of downtown living, he added.
"We are moving towards intensification, a smart-growth approach and some people are quite comfortable in higher density developments," Alder said.
The community centre was constructed in 1934 as the Gospel Temple.
It was bought by the Catholic school board and also served as a Catholic cultural centre. More recently, a bingo hall operated in the building for 16 years until it was shut down and vacated two years ago.
When the prior owner applied for a rezoning to residential use in 2003, there was an application for a heritage designation.
But Riley said the designation was not applied because the London Advisory Committee on Heritage said the building did not warrant designation.
Sherifi said the existing building was in poor shape and could not be salvaged.
Copyright © The London Free Press