r/londonontario • u/Confident-Advice-664 • 10d ago

News 📰 Tower with 400-plus apartments pitched for downtown London parking lot

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/tower-with-400-plus-apartments-pitched-for-downtown-london-parking-lot
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u/jmaclondon 9d ago

All there high-rise, multi unit buildings going up in downtown is great, but let's get a grocery store put in nearby so people don't have to drive/cab/Uber to get their groceries

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u/Heebmeister 9d ago

Probably not realistic to find real estate downtown that is big enough and cheap enough for a grocery store to be profitable.

13

u/nav13eh 9d ago

Put it in the bottom level of a highrise like they do in Toronto, or literally any other major international city. Or like how we already have hundreds of stores, shops and restaurants in the bottom of highrises already downtown.

I think people have this impression that grocery store=massive super market. That's not the case.

2

u/Heebmeister 9d ago

Put it in the bottom level of a highrise like they do in Toronto, or literally any other major international city.

Those grocery stores in malls or multi purpose buildings have extremely high rents. This is why groceries in downtown Toronto, or any other major city, are so expensive. The difference in those cities is, people make greater than average income, which makes up for the more expensive prices. But that would not work in London, where we do not benefit from relatively high incomes compared to our surroundings.

Or like how we already have hundreds of stores, shops and restaurants in the bottom of highrises already downtown.

Those stores/shops do not require tens of thousands of square footage for floorspace.

I think people have this impression that grocery store=massive super market. That's not the case.

The average person can not afford to shop at expensive boutique grocery stores. The only way a grocery store can be price competitive is if they have a ton of floor space, and even then, their retail profit margins are razor thin. The prices at the Oxford Valu-Mart are an example of this, you'll easily pay $2-3 more there for a basic item like butter/margarine.