An application has been made to increase permitted office space at Westmount Mall from 107,000 to 242,000 square feet, aiming to lease it to CARFAX Canada — a London tech employer with about 600 staff planning to add roughly 200 more. Reporting confirms the move is cost-driven: building new space at Kellogg Lane would make rent too expensive, while Westmount's existing space is cheaper. City staff and Mayor Josh Morgan oppose the rezoning, arguing it undermines downtown's role as the primary office location. Ward 13 Councillor David Ferreira has personally joined that effort, telling reporters: "We want to see what we can do to get Carfax downtown... This is an opportunity we may never see again in our lifetime."
My Plan · Where I Stand
Carfax, Westmount, and What London Actually Gets in Return
Keep the jobs in London. Make downtown earn investment, and make major approvals deliver something real in return.
The answer
Here’s the issue. Here’s my answer. Here’s what I’d do.
I understand the argument for trying to bring those jobs downtown. My priority is keeping the jobs in London. I do not think good jobs should be put at risk over which part of the city they are located in.
I live downtown and I want investment downtown. But downtown has to fix the basics — clean streets, public safety and a core that works — if we want businesses to choose it. That is not giving up on downtown. It is doing the work that earns investment back.
Support for Westmount should not be a blank cheque either. If Council has lawful tools to secure public benefits through the approval, I would want a real first phase of residential development and a real schedule — not another future promise.
I would ask what lawful conditions or agreements can secure a scheduled first phase of housing alongside the office expansion. Keeping jobs in London is a citywide issue. Separately, I would keep pushing the downtown basics that make the core a stronger place to invest.
Your say
Do you agree, partly agree, or disagree?
Check the work
Check the sources and status
Where to go next.
BISSON13 · Ward 13
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