When WSIB moves its headquarters to London, Ont., will the office be downtown?
Office workers offer core area businesses a steady weekday customer base.
Struggling with more than a million square feet of vacant office space in core business districts, hope for a turnaround has been riding on last year’s announcement that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s (WSIB) headquarters would move from Toronto to London, Ont.
Prior to the pandemic, 3,000 workers commuted each day to Toronto.
At the April 2022 announcement, the WSIB was unsure how many of those positions would move here given the evolving opportunities for working remotely.
However, multiple sources have told CTV News that the WSIB is now eyeing the 3M building at 300 Tartan Dr. near Veterans Memorial Parkway as a new headquarters.
The six-storey office building offers 134,500 square feet of space.
It was put on the market last summer when 3M reduced its need for local office space.
The online listing was recently updated to read “under contract”, so CTV News specifically asked if the WSIB is planning to relocate to the building on Tartan Drive rather than relocate to downtown London.
Office building at 300 Tartan Dr. in east London, Ont. as seen on June 2, 2023. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)
The Labour Minister’s Office reiterated that, “Our government promised to move the WSIB to London and we're getting it done. This decision will bring economic development and hundreds of well-paying jobs from downtown Toronto to the region.”
A response from the WSIB also included no reference to 300 Tartan Dr., “We have been actively looking to confirm the ideal location for our new head office for many months, and that comprehensive process continues.”
On June 6, a strategy to address core area vacancies will be considered by city council.
It determined that office vacancy in the core reached 24.6 per cent last fall (1.2 million square feet) in the downtown, midtown, and the Old East Village.
In a statement, Mayor Josh Morgan told CTV News, “Our understanding is that no final decision has been made on the location of WSIB. Until confirmation is received from the appropriate parties, I’m not in a position to comment on that aspect.”
At last April’s relocation announcement, Morgan discussed the possibility of bringing WSIB to the core.
“This is the type of thing that works very well in our downtown, there’s lots of opportunities there, but it’s not city council that will make that decision, it will be the good folks at WSIB,” he said at the time.
No timeline has been offered to announce the new location in London.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.