Farhi Holdings acquires the former Greyhound bus terminal in London

The ubiquitous Farhi Holdings sign has not yet been mounted on the exterior, but another prominent building has been purchased by downtown London’s largest landlord.

In a statement to CTV News, Shmuel Farhi confirms that his company has acquired the former Greyhound bus terminal at the corner of York and Talbot streets.

“We have purchased the former Greyhound bus site because we believe in the future of downtown London,” writes Farhi in an email. “The site will be included in our downtown redevelopment masterplan.”

Last week, the primary entrances to the terminal building were boarded up to prevent unauthorized entry or vandalism.

A Subway restaurant continues to operate from a small commercial space on the north side of the building.

Despite experiencing significant vacancy in many of his downtown buildings, Shmuel Farhi explains that this property was purchased with a specific use in mind — parking.

“CBRE will be commissioned to find a tenant for the existing 14,000 sq. ft. until such a time that our 451 Ridout St. development (which we’ve worked on for over ten-and-a-half years) comes to fruition,” reads the statement.

Farhi owns several parking lots along York Street including diagonally across from the bus terminal.

Earlier this year, city council approved Farhi Developments’ rezoning request at 451 Ridout St. for a 40-storey building, but an appeal has been filed by heritage advocates concerned about impacts to Bankers Row, a national heritage site.

Farhi explains that the bus terminal will also supply reserved parking for a cluster of tech companies that are tenants in his office building at 100 Dundas St.

“This is due to the fact that we will be dedicating over an acre of land to expand Harris Park at 451 Ridout St.” writes Farhi. “Currently, this acreage is surface parking for our tenants.”

City hall is launching an investigation to develop strategies that will discourage empty storefronts and office space in the core.

At the same time, council has backed a regional transportation plan that envisions a new downtown hub that would allow people to transfer between trains, buses and other modes.

So far no location has been secured.

The terminal was put on the market after Greyhound Canada ended service to London in May 2021.