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Written by Kieran Delamont, Associate Editor, London Inc.
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Corus cuts jobs at London’s AM980, shutters Hamilton’s 900 CMHL
Layoffs hit Global News AM980 this week, as parent company Corus Entertainment looks to slash 800 jobs by the end of the month, the company announced on Wednesday. Two full-time and two part-time editorial positions were eliminated at the London radio station ― the latest blow to the radio industry in town, which saw long-time station 1290 CJBK go dark last year after more than five decades of broadcasting. Also announced in the layoffs was the news that Corus would be closing Hamilton’s 900 CHML, one of Canada’s oldest and largest radio news stations; by Wednesday afternoon, it was off the air.
The upshot: Not that there’s much bright side to this for Corus employees ― particularly those who are out of a job ― but the cuts could have been much deeper for the London station. Corus had been public about their plans to slash 25 per cent of its workforce (the 800 jobs) by the end of August, and last month said it still had around 300 jobs to eliminate. Its focus so far has been cuts in larger markets, and CEO Troy Reeb said on a recent earnings call that smaller markets would be “the focus of our restructuring efforts.”
Read more: CTV News London | Toronto Star
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Financial implications and future concerns heat up surrounding London District Energy
The Grand Theatre and a number of other downtown London buildings are going to be in…er, out of hot water soon. London District Energy announced earlier in the year that it would be cutting off its low-pressure steam line, which provides heating and cooling to 17 core-area buildings, at the end of May 2025. Now, the financial implications are starting to bubble to the surface. On Wednesday, officials from the Grand Theatre said the cost of installing a new boiler system for the building would be a minimum of $800,000 and said that having to take on another $1 million or so in debt would be “crippling” to their post-Covid recovery. Tourism London is in a similar predicament, with the low-pressure line also servicing the municipally-owned J. Allyn Taylor Building it works out of at 267 Dundas Street. On Wednesday, the corporate services committee voted to pull $400,000 from the hotel tax fund to contribute towards the Grand Theatre’s new boiler, while recommending contracting its current HVAC service provider to retrofit 267 Dundas at an estimated cost of $810,000. Council will vote to approve both plans at the end of the month.
The upshot: What the city also learned was that it might have a much larger problem (and tab) on its hands, with a less-than-guaranteed future for the medium-pressure steam line that provides heating to several larger facilities, including City Hall, RBC Place Budweiser Gardens, Centennial Hall and Museum London. Toronto-based Enwave Energy Corporation, which purchased London District Energy in 2017, is reportedly “assessing” the state of the medium-pressure line (there’s also a high-pressure line in operation), which leaves open the possibility that it too may be shut down. So, the city will likely have to start planning for what to do with the system if Enwave pulls the plug on it. Mayor Josh Morgan said he would be speaking to other municipalities, looking for greater regulation of district energy systems. “This is essentially the equivalent of a large utility ceasing to supply a needed service,” he said.
Read more: CTV News London
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YXU announces winter sun destinations as it contends with flight declines at regional airports
London International Airport has announced its winter schedule, teasing a range of flights to sunny destinations starting as early as November. Air Transat will offer weekly flights to Cancun, Mexico and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Flair will offer twice-weekly flights to Cancun and Orlando, Florida. And finally, Sunwing will offer weekly flights to Punta Cana, Cayo Coco and Varadero in Cuba, and Cancun. “We’re looking forward to a busy winter season at YXU with flights to beautiful sun destinations starting as early as November 2,” said airport CEO Scott McFadzean.
The upshot: The menu for summer flights is largely unchanged over last year, so it looks like the era in which YXU was adding flights left, right and centre has given way to a continuity schedule. Which is probably the best you can hope for right now. A recent report in the Canadian Press found that the number of flights to and from smaller city airports has declined in relative terms, while larger airports are more or less back to pre-pandemic averages. “It’s been a challenge for regional airports across the country coming out of the pandemic,” McFadzean told CTV. “You’re seeing a few different trends, one being that there isn’t as many flights to the connecting cities as there was pre-pandemic…the connections to Toronto, that used to be up as many as 12 times a day, now that’s down to four a day.”
Read more: YXU | CTV News London
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Suite advantage: Local homebuilder tackles affordability by adding secondary units to starter home builds
A local homebuilder has been expanding its footprint in the city and is teaming up with local property managers and financiers to try and bridge the affordability gap. Ironstone Building Company has been pushing its ‘Flex Haus’ concept ― a starter home that includes a basement suite meant to supplement a new homeowner’s income. So far, the company has built 15 such homes in town and has sold 12 of them. Ironstone’s president Dave Stimac told The London Free Press that London has changed in terms of affordability, “and that has also provided us with the necessity of creating different solutions without just having a single-family home with a white picket fence.” Jared Zaifman, CEO at the London Home Builders’ Association, expects to see more homebuilders move in this direction as time goes on. “We’re now seeing other builders start to go in this direction, again, partly from an affordability perspective,” he said. “Some of our builders are looking at changing, even some of their existing plans, to see how they can accommodate and make this work.”
The upshot: Ironstone has been leaning heavily into the concept of additional dwelling units ― the technical name for secondary suites ― as a solution to housing affordability. It seems to be having early success on the building side of things ― the firm was awarded the 2023 Ontario Home Builders’ Association Innovation Award last year. Additionally, Ironstone is partnering with property managers and financial institutions to support the concept. The builder works with Drewlo Holdings, for instance, on a rent-to-own program in which Drewlo tenants receive incentives to put towards the purchase of an Ironstone home. Ironstone has also partnered with RBC to ease the process of getting a mortgage for a home with a secondary suite. “We need to think this way,” Stimac said. “I won’t suggest it’s mainstream quite yet, but people are starting to get it, so we’re throwing more resources towards this.”
Read more: Ironstone | London Free Press
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Cream of the crop
Cream ale fans, look no further than your own backyard for the top of the crop: Anderson Craft Ales’ Cream Ale was recently crowned the World’s Best Cream Ale at the 2024 World Beer Awards. It’s not the first time Anderson Cream Ale has garnered praise ― in 2018 it won a gold medal for cream ales at the Canadian Brewing Awards and took home silver in the same category this year. But at the World’s, up against stiff competition from breweries from across the globe, it took home the top spot. “Making the best beer we possibly can has always been our top priority, and we are honoured to be recognized for our Cream Ale on an international stage,” said president Gavin Anderson (pictured).
The upshot: It’s nice to see some praise for the humble and often overlooked cream ale ― a Canadian classic, once called “the beer that could be cool.” It’s also big praise for Anderson’s craft take on standard varieties of beers ― brown ales, lagers and so on. “I think this award shows the care and dedication that our team puts into every beer we make,” Anderson said. “It takes more than great ingredients to make great beer, it takes great people that are passionate about what they do ― and I think this proves we have the best team in the world.”
Read more: World Beer Awards
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Planning committee green lights an additional 1,100-plus housing units
The city’s planning committee endorsed proposals for over 1,100 new homes this week. Downtown, the committee approved a proposal from Bell Ridge Capital to build two towers at York and Wellington (pictured), which would add 1,067 units. It also approved 28 new townhomes at 553 and 557 Upper Queen Street, a proposal that had faced questions around flood planning. And third, it approved a proposal from South London Developments Inc. to build a 55-unit apartment building, one that had faced some local resident pushback, with one asking committee members whether they “really want to set this precedent, allowing four-storey apartment buildings at the sidewalk throughout our neighbourhoods?” (Keen observers will note that it’s pretty much exactly the precedent that housing advocates around the council table have been trying to set for a couple years now…)
The upshot: The main wrinkle in the approvals surrounds the 1,000-unit tower proposal at York and Wellington, which staff noted would need to be delayed until probably 2026 or so, because the area’s sewer capacity needs to be upgraded. “They actually can’t start development for some time until that infrastructure is upgraded,” said Zelinka Priamo planner Taylor Whitney. The good news is that work on some of those sewers is already underway ― the street was recently torn up between Clarence and Wellington and is expected to stay closed until December this year. The bigger sewer work that is needed ― a replacement of a sanitary sewer trunk line ― isn’t expected until next year, though, so staff issued the approval recommendation only with the provision that actual development be held until the sewer capacity is addressed.
Read more: London Free Press | CBC News London
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Dispatch: August 16, 2024
A summary of recent business appointments and announcements, plus event listings for the upcoming week.
View listings here
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