Farhi acquires Market Tower

DOWNTOWN

By JOHN MINER, The London Free Press

After two decades of attempting to buy the property, London developer Shmuel Farhi has acquired the historic Market Tower building on Dundas St.

"I was looking at this building for the past 20 years and I'm glad we are able to put it to sleep and add to our holdings in downtown London. We believe in the downtown," Farhi, head of Farhi Holdings Corporation, said. Farhi said Market Tower is a beautiful building.

The Market Tower Building is a strategic purchase for the company, giving Farhi control of the west side of Richmond between Dundas and King Streets.

Farhi Holdings owns the Royal Bank building on Dundas. The two properties have more than 350,000 square feet of office space.

The Market Tower building at the corner of Dundas and Richmond Streets was a focal point for the downtown when it was the Simpsons department store.

Farhi said his strategy is to increase occupancy of Market Tower and the Royal Bank building, drawing more people into London's downtown.

Farhi Holdings other downtown London properties include the TD Canada Trust building at 220 Dundas St., 201 Queen's Ave., Bell building at 100 Dundast St., Duffield Building at 215 Dundas, Wright Litho building at 424 Wellington St., and the former Royal Trust Building at 137 Dundas.

Other developers should be investing in downtown London as well, Farhi said.

John Miner is a Free Press reporter.