Housing, homelessness No. 1 during London’s 2024 state of the city address

London Mayor Josh Morgan delivered his second state of the city address Thursday morning, singling out a plan for creating new housing and addressing London’s homelessness crisis.

Speaking before a crowd of more than 1,000 people, Morgan started his address by acknowledging the financial pressures many in the city have faced due to inflation and high cost of living.

“During times of struggle and times of hardship, it is imperative we display our best values,” Morgan said.

Addressing his plan outlined at the state of the city to combat the homeless crisis, Morgan spoke this year about how they have put that plan into action.

Thanks to a large anonymous donation of $25 million to address homeless last year and an offer to match all donations up to $5 million, Mayor Morgan said funds are nearing $35 million.

Calling it a first-of-its-kind plan, Morgan said the funds are being used to open hubs that connect those of all ages who experience homelessness not just with shelters but also with social services and health resources that can address the underlying issues of homelessness.

He said the city has created 69 highly supportive housing units, with more on the way.

Morgan also acknowledged the role affordable housing plays in curbing homelessness, noting that approximately 1,000 affordable housing units have been started or approved within the last year.

He said the city would be working with the province to expedite and to streamline the approval process in a new strategy to be unveiled at the council next week.

During his remarks Thursday, Morgan spoke about a new financial incentive program to convert unused office space into residential units.

Morgan said almost 30 per cent of the office space is currently vacant.

Morgan also said he would leverage his strong mayoral powers to redevelop city-owned parking lots in the downtown area.

“This has the potential to deliver hundreds of new parking spaces and thousands of new residences, both contributing to an unprecedented renewal of our downtown core,” he said.

During his speech, the mayor revealed that four of London’s most prominent developers have come together to transform a vacant, long-term care home on Elmwood Place, in the city’s southeast end, into 40 new supportive housing units.

Through a partnership with Indwell and with support from government partners, the Elmwood property will be retrofitted to get the home up to standard.

Morgan spoke about a plan to improve public safety, with the mayor noting that some residents have to wait up to a week for the police to respond to a call due to what London police have attributed to a lack of resources.

As council looks to table the city’s multi-year budget next week, Morgan said he would be “unequivocal in the support for an unprecedented investment in public safety, the largest of its kind in London’s history.”

The full budget will be revealed on Feb. 1, which Morgan said would also contain “substantial investments” in public transit and an economic development strategy.

He acknowledged the significant boost in funding would also lead to a noticeable increase for property tax payers.

The mayor said the funding was needed as the London community continues to grow rapidly.

“We have created 18,000 new jobs since this council was sworn-in to office just over a year ago. That’s among the best records in all of Canada during that time, but we can’t afford to take it for granted,” Morgan said.

“The creation of a unifying economic development strategy will better align resources in unprecedented ways, remove silos, and fuel London’s economy for decades to come.”