SoHo development ready to move to the building phase

A groundbreaking ceremony Friday at the site of what Vision SOHO alliance is calling a first-of-its-kind housing development marks the transition from planning to building phases of this mega-project.

The property was sold by the city for $2 million in order for the project to finally begin in earnest.

“We acquired the site three weeks ago. We're finalizing our plans. We hope to get in the ground in the next few months,” says Greg Playford, board member of Homes Unlimited.

“It's taken a long time. It's a unique project with six partners involved that have never worked together and it's unique in Canada,” sdded Martha Powell, president and CEO of London Community Foundation.

The project will see five new buildings constructed, and renovations to two of the former Victoria Hospital buildings in order to create 680 rentable units, half of which will be classified as affordable housing. The unique aspect of the development is the involvement of several developers and stake holders.

“If you had one developer come in and do this whole project which would take about 15 years. We figure we know that we can do it in four years,” says Powell.

In terms of the restoration efforts of the former Health Sciences building, and War Memorial Children’s hospital, that will be converted to living spaces. An estimated $1 million will be needed to correct years of neglect

“Well, there's quite a bit of work to be done in the buildings I don't think it's a secret. There’s some mold that has to be removed. There’s some water in the basement. The engineers have been all through it, and it's going to take a few months to get ready but the renovations hopefully will start early in the new year,” says Playford.

The plan is an answer to Mayor Ed Holder’s call to build 3,000 affordable housing units in the city, as over 6,000 families and individuals sit on a waitlist for social housing in the community.

“If you don't have a roof over your head, very little as possible. But once you do, anything is possible,” Holder said during his remarks Friday.

The first building that will be built is a multi-storey parking garage, that four of the buildings will sit on top of and share, while renovation, and restoration of the former hospital buildings will begin in the new year.

A total cost of the project has not been revealed but is estimated in the $200-300 million range, and will require extensive fundraising and government assistance to complete.