35-storey apartment tower proposed for Richmond and Oxford intersection

A developer known for stylish rental buildings in larger markets like Toronto and Montreal is making its first foray into London, proposing a 35-storey tower at the corner of Richmond and Oxford streets.

Fitzrovia Real Estate has submitted a development application to replace the existing — and mostly empty — two-storey commercial building at the busy intersection's southwest corner with a tower of 512 apartments.

The building will cater mainly to students and young professionals with on-site attractions such as a gym, rooftop resort-style pool and a coffee shop that by night, converts into a cocktail bar.

"We feel that London has a sophisticated urban fabric which deserves great architecture and design," said Fitzrovia CEO Adrian Rocca, who studied business at Western University and knows the city well.

Rocca said other buildings the company owns, such as The Waverly on Spadina Ave. near Queen's Park in Toronto, attract tenants with extras such as on-staff event co-ordinators who plan everything from tenant barbecues to speed dating events.

The proposed building would include a number of amenities to cater to the target market of students and young professionals, including a rooftop pool. (Hariri Pontarini Architects)

The building's mix of rentals will include:

Studio apartments, each about 400 square feet in size
One-bedroom apartments, about 550 square feet
Two-bedroom apartments, about 750 square feet
Three-bedroom apartments up to 1,110 square feet

The bottom two floors will also host commercial space.

Rocca said the market will determine the rental rates when the building is complete but estimated that a studio unit at today's rates would likely rent for about $1,700 a month.

Not every resident will have parking

Most of the residents won't have a parking spot.

The developer is proposing three levels of underground parking, with 77 vehicle spaces for the building's 512 units. That's in keeping with changes to city rules that reduced the number of parking spaces developers are required to provide in new buildings. The developer is planning 270 bike parking spaces.

If approved as submitted, the building will add rental stock to a city mired in a housing crisis, but it will also have to first clear some planning hurdles.

The site will benefit from new city rules that allow buildings of up to 16 storeys if they're located along transit corridors such as Richmond and Oxford streets. However, the proposed tower for 743 Richmond St. would still exceed the enhanced 30-storey height limit, which would require a council-approved, site-specific amendment to the city's official plan.

Coun. David Ferreira said although the proposal does represent a significant change to the area, overall it stands to add residential units and density where both are needed: On a downtown lot and located close to transit.

"I'm looking into the future and I expect, as we're seeing, you're going to have these high-rise buildings pop up," he said. "It will fit into the higher context of how London is evolving."

Ferreira said he's met with Fitzrovia staff and said he expressed to them the importance of making sure the building fits esthetically on a corner that serves as a gateway from the north into Richmond Row and downtown London.

"It's being built in a way that it's going to plug into that transit corridor," said Ferreira.

Rocca said although there was some resident pushback on a similar building proposed for the nearby corner of St. George and Ann Street, he believes it's the kind of development that that council can get behind.

"You need to put density in strategic areas that have long-term infrastructure," he said. "We would say that it's consistent with the official plan and the city's views on density.