According to the Free Press story, the development proposal comes from "BSN London in collaboration with Siv-ik Planning and Design." I haven't heard of these folks before, and an online search hasn't revealed much about them. I don't know if they actually build anything or just talk about it, like another local developer who comes to mind.
Many will say this is just another ugly tower on a podium. And that the proposal isn't in a great neighbourhood. "Location! Location! Location!" They might be right, but I still support this development.
Why? Because, for years, heritage preservationists such as myself have suggested developing the city's surface parking lots rather than knocking down heritage buildings. Just think! Here's a tower that could be built without folks like me complaining! Wouldn't that be refreshing? And, gosh, density, infill, and downtown revitalization!
And it's about time. According to this CBC report, London has 29-30 acres of surface parking lots on 67 different sites. This is a huge waste of valuable real estate. And if we don't want to spread into our surrounding farmland, these sites should be developed.
How are other cities doing? The Parking Reform Network has a series of maps showing how much land in major cities is taken up by parking lots. In Las Vegas, for example, 33% of the central city is off-street parking. New York City is 0.4%. OK, the maps are of American cities, but there's also a blog about parking reform lobbying in many communities internationally, including our very own Ottawa. The progressive trend is to develop parking lots. And London needs to be progressive.
If you agree with me that this is the right way to go, I suggest you write to the City Hall Planning and Environment Committee. Deadline for comments is December 3.
