London, Ont. risks running low on a critical asset for attracting new jobs

Growing the number of industrial jobs in London, Ont. literally starts from the ground up.

A new report going to city council warns that ensuring local employment keeps pace during London’s population boom will require more investment in shovel-ready industrial land by city hall.

The report reads, “It is forecast that [marketable industrial land] will fall below the targeted supply of land by 2025 and the timeline to acquire, zone, design, and construct industrial subdivisions is three to five years.”

The London Economic Development Commission (LEDC) explained that the municipality’s Industrial Land Strategy (ILS) ensures that a variety of shovel-ready properties are available in industrial parks when companies come knocking.

“The Industrial Land Strategy has been a very successful strategy that has helped us attract thousands of jobs to the region, as well as corporate investments from all over the world,” LEDC President Kapil Lakhotia told CTV News.

Council is being asked to support the strategy by confirming that sufficient funds will be included in the city’s 2024-27 budget to maintain an ongoing supply of 200 hectares of serviced industrial land.

Already booming, demand for industrial properties is expected to soar even higher in the coming years.

The council report predicts, “Stellantis-LG in Windsor and Volkswagen in St. Thomas are anticipated to attract spin-off industries and supplier interest in local industrial lands to support these two facilities.”

“Together with St. Thomas, we will be working to attract several new suppliers that will come to our area,” Lakhotia confirmed.

The local food sector is also experiencing growth after recent investments.

Lakhotia added that other municipal investments are also important to keep up with the demand for good jobs, “We also have to ensure that the workforce supply, the housing supply, the industrial transit conductivity, all these other variables are also coming together in order for this equation to be complete.”

The report about updating the Industrial Land Strategy will be considered by council’s Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee on May 9.