London Inc. Weekly

Province provides cash injections for Adriani and Starlim

The province was splashing around some investment cash in town this week, with two investments in industrial production facilities announced over the past few days. The first was Andriani Ltd., the Italian pasta maker building a $33.6-million gluten-free pasta plant at Innovation Park this year ― it’s first North American production facility. Adriani is receiving a $1.5-million investment from the province. The second is silicone parts manufacturer Starlim North America Corp. on Tartan Drive. Starlim is launching a $10.4-million expansion, and it is receiving a $2.3 million in investment from the province ($1.3 million from the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund and $1 million from the Ontario Together Fund). Premier Doug Ford was on hand for the announcement, and said, “despite economic headwinds, companies, across all sectors, are choosing Ontario because of our competitive business environment, our access to markets and our world-class workforce.”

The upshot: It’s great news for the city ― the two investments will bring around 65 to 70 jobs to the area. For the province, it’s a type of investment that they’ve been rolling out regularly as part of their long-term plan to rebuild the manufacturing base of Ontario’s economy. London has been a good partner for them in that regard. Ford said at the Andriani announcement this week that the city has created, by his count, 18,000 jobs since 2022. “They created the environment for companies to come here and prosper and grow,” he said, praising the city. Andriani was happy about the warm reception they’ve received from city officials, too. “London gave us a huge welcome,” said Michele Di Paolo, chief operating officer of Andriani. “We recognized the professionalism in London. They have the knowledge and the interest.”

Read more: London Free Press | Canadian Manufacturing

Odd Burger to open Western location

Odd Burger, the vegan burger chain launched in London and formerly known as Globally Local, is opening a franchise location on Western’s campus ― the upstart’s first foray into on-campus dining. “Odd Burger will be Western’s first 100 per cent plant-based eatery and the opening will provide a significant step towards furthering Western’s sustainability initiatives,” reads an Odd Burger press release. Odd Burger co-founder James McInnes said that “as Western alumni, this is a particularly proud moment for both myself and co-founder Vasiliki McInnes (pictured) and it honestly feels surreal to now be part of the Western campus.” The location will be in the University Community Centre food court, the main food court for students on campus.

The upshot: It’s a notch in the win column for Odd Burger, which they probably needed. News out of the once-London-based company (it still maintains a food production facility in town) has been uncertain lately, at least on their food service side of the operation. The company recently saw their chief financial officer, Ted Sehl, step down due to an “unexpected and severe medical event,” and subsequently missed a filing deadline for annual financial statements, causing them to halt trading earlier this week. Although the company had previously set itself a target of opening nearly 100 locations in Canada (and announced plans to open 150 in India), so far it only has 12 locations open. On Thursday, it announced that it had appointed a new CFO, Murtaza Chevel, the former CFO of the fast-casual chain Quesada. 

Read more: Foodservice and Hospitality | Verdict Food Service

A reopened Forest City Velodrome looks to rebuild membership and find stability

The Velodrome lives; long live the Velodrome. After a very rough year for London’s indoor cycling track ― one that saw them close down unexpectedly in mid-2023 following a dispute over the lease ― and just months after thieves stripped a good chunk of their copper wire and left the place without power ― the Velodrome, which is housed in the former London Ice House, is back in gear thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers determined to keep the facility alive. “People said, ‘let’s do it, let’s go,’” said new Forest City Velodrome president Eric Hueston. “We made a new deal with the landlord for a lease agreement and away we went.” Their focus now? Getting more people out and rebuilding its membership back up to where it was before they closed.

The upshot: It will be an uphill battle for the Velodrome (a niche cycling venue if there ever was one, with only five other velodromes in North America) to achieve some kind of sustainability, and volunteers are definitely cognizant of this. But what they have going for them is a dedicated group of riders who want to keep the facility going. “When it closed, it was a wakeup call for me. I was really very willing to volunteer more,” Albert Debries told The London Free Press. “There are only six of these in North America and I have one 10 minutes from my house.” So far, they say they have sold around 50 memberships ― a ways off from where they were, but Hueston said they are “trending in the right direction.” 

Read more: CTV News London | London Free Press

Demolition begins on former London Free Press building

While the former Ice House-turned-velodrome has avoided the wrecking ball, the former headquarters of The London Free Press at 369 York Street has not, with demolition beginning on the building last week. The building has been empty, stripped on the inside, since Postmedia moved the newspaper to an office at Dundas and Clarence streets a few years ago (the Free Press is now a totally remote operation), shortly before the building itself was purchased by Farhi Holdings Corp. in 2018. At the time, Farhi announced plans for a $20-million retrofit of the 180,000-square-foot facility to develop an entrepreneurship hub dubbed Venture London, but nothing materialized on that front. With no heritage designation, the city issued a demolition permit earlier this year.

The upshot: The big question: what’s next for the site? Undertaking the demo might imply Farhi has plans in the works, though Londoners know not to count those chickens before they hatch (surface parking lots excluded). In addition to floating the business hub concept, Farhi also mused about finding new tenants for the building. Neither came to pass. The smart money is on a residential development on the site, something the city would certainly be happy to see. “I think that’s the highest and best use of that site,” Colliers International London president Chris Kirwin said last spring. Something to watch: The 3.7-acre site sits immediately next to a 4.3-acre parcel of land at 301 York Street, a current parking lot that is on the market for $41 million and change. Combined, the lots would represent a somewhat rare high-density urban development opportunity with the potential for thousands of units. 

Read more: CBC London | London Free Press