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
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.