Empty marquee downtown building sold for $5.1M: ‘It’s the core of the core’

Downtown London advocates hope for a retail renaissance at a high-profile core intersection with the sale of a long-unoccupied building to a Toronto-area developer.

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Farhi Holdings Corp. sold the former Rexall building at 166-170 Dundas St., on the northeast corner of Dundas and Richmond streets, to 166 Dundas St. London Inc. in a $5.15-million transaction late last month, Ontario land registry documents show.

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The five-storey, mixed-use retail and office building was previously home to a Rexall drug store on the ground and second floors. Tea store closed in June 2018 after four years in business.

The site had once been the location of a CIBC branch.

“It’s the core of the core,” said Barbara Maly, executive director of Downtown London, the area business association. “As with any property owner and developer in the downtown, we’re always willing to work closely with the new owner as we hopefully try and find a new prominent anchor in that area.”

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166 Dundas St. London Inc., which now owns the building, was incorporated in late November, according to a business registry search. The address of its headquarters is the same as the Maas Group in Mississauga, a builder and real estate development company.

Samir Jan, listed as a director of 166 Dundas St. London Inc., is also the president and chief executive of Maas Group.

Jan and Maas Group did not respond to requests for comment on their plans for the downtown building.

The sale and potential for development at the key downtown intersection is exciting news, said Ward 13 Coun. David Ferreira.

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“That spot is a great location. There’s lots of potential,” said Ferreira, whose ward covers the downtown core. “There are so many opportunities. For this new buyer, we welcome them with open arms. I’m interested to see the plans they have for the location. My office is always open.”

The building’s sale comes after the loss of other major retail tenants in the area in recent years. A longtime McDonald’s outlet in Market Tower, kitty-corner to the former Rexall building, closed in August 2019 in a location that remains vacant.

A former Starbucks outlet at 160 Dundas St., on the northwest corner of the Richmond-Dundas intersection, closed in 2020. It has since been replaced by Buzz Bagelz, a sandwich and coffee shop started by a Western University alumnus.

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Development at the intersection would be welcome news for the core, Maly said. The spot is close to major downtown landmarks – including Covent Garden Market, Budweiser Gardens and Fanshawe College’s satellite campus – and is a focal point along Dundas Place, the pedestrian-friendly flex street where many community events are held.

The large property could also be developed to meet the growing population downtownshe said.

“There are going to be more amenities that will be needed. Whether it goes there or in another location, we’ve heard things like grocery stores, community hubs and collaboration cafes are on people’s list,” Maly said.

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