George Anastasiadis knows he needs help.

The longtime London restaurateur and parking lot owner dreams of growing his business, joining a long list of those wanting to add a highrise tower to downtown London’s skyline.

Anastasiadis has all the green lights he needs to go ahead, but what he quickly found out — a reality well known by established London builders — is that such a move is a tough, costly and time-consuming job that only a few can pull off.

“It is going ahead, but it is slow. I am not a builder. I need a partner,” said Anastasiadis, owner of Mustang Sally’s, Burger Burger and the Barking Frog. “There is a lot of work to do.”

It’s a lesson others may also be learning.

Bristling with big-ticket public investments like the Budweiser Centre and a thriving arts and entertainment scene, downtown London has rapidly become the place to live for many in the city, with 10 applications to put up highrise residential towers in the core, including one already going up.

But despite all the towering proposals and nifty concept drawings Londoners have seen for the downtown, only the one highrise project is actually now under construction, begging the question how many of the others will see the light of day.

No one expects highrises to go up that will stand empty. Developers are simply too smart for that. But how many towers will be built — and when — is an open question, industry insiders say.

“Some proposals may be speculative,” said Ali Soufan, president of York Developments, which wants to build one of those towers.

“Landowners will get approval, but (may) have no desire to build. They might flip it, sell the land,” he said.

Longtime London builder Andy Spriet, a downtown supporter long before that became fashionable, still watches the core scene closely and is rooting for more building.

But, he’s quick to add, only those with experience in building will be able to pull it off.

“They will improve the downtown, but I am sure a few (proposals) will fall by the wayside. Those who have done it before will likely be successful,” he said.

While Soufan believes some of the highrises pitched may not be built, he doubts towers will rise only to sit empty. Lenders and developers are too experienced, with too much market research under their belts, to let that happen, he said.

“Will the market be overbuilt? I doubt it will happen. Developers are smart enough to hit the gas or brakes depending on absorption and market conditions,” said Soufan.

Among the proposed towers, a who’s-who of London developers — Southside Group, Auburn Developments, Old Oak Properties and York Developments — are the ones with the most building experience.

Another, Danforth London Ltd., is embroiled in a lawsuit with the city over its multi-tower proposed development at King and Clarence Streets — an intersection that would become key to the city’s $560-million rapid transit system’s corridors.

“There is a frenzy going on,” Soufan said of all the highrises proposed downtown. “It’s still a healthy market. Downtown is fashionable. It has a better absorption rate (for new projects) than the suburbs.”

If all 10 highrises on the boards are built, more than 3,000 units — apartments and condominiums — would be added to the city centre, whose population now is more than 7,000.

That’s a lot more people walking the streets downtown, but they might not all come from here.

Soufan said he believes London is getting a lot of attention from out-of-town buyers, for example from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and that will help the downtown.

“London has become a diverse economy and with that, there is prosperity across the board. We are seeing an influx from the GTA. That is a factor,” he said.

As for Anastasiadis, he’s partnering with Vito Frjia, an experienced builder and president of the Southside Group who knows how tough it is to build.

Anastasiadis estimates it will cost at least $50 million to build his tower. Lenders will only offer up about half the amount — and that’s if a builder qualifies for financing.

In the end, that’s why an experienced deep-pocketed builder — one with capital at their disposal — is needed to get the job done.

“No builder will build it for me without a profit. It may be better to sell it (the land) than build,” Anastasiadis added.

“I was offered $2.9 million three years ago” for the land at 455 Clarence St., he said. “I did not take it, Since it was rezoned (to permit a highrise), it is now worth more than $4 million.”

Anastasiadis is now debating whether his tower would have 170 to 250 units in its 32 storeys (it depends on the size of the units), the price and whether to wait until the one tower now being built in the core, the luxury Azure condo tower by Tricar Group on Talbot Street, is finished ,until he finalizes his owns plans.

It all underscores the challenge of building downtown, said Frijia.

“They will not all go at once,” he said of the downtown highrise proposals.

”Business will look at demand, the market, interest rates. Before banks fund it they will look at the market. The money has to be there and there has to be demand.

“It takes a lot of time.” he said.

Just getting an application to build a highrise before city hall is an involved, costly process.

That’s why the city believes most of the proposals will, eventually, be built, said John Fleming, the city’s planning director.

“You don’t see an application if there is no interest in building and there is a market,” he said.

“I expect they will be built, in stages, over time.”

The interest in downtown London is being driven by demographics, a trend across North America that’s seeing empty nesters flee the suburbs and move to a city’s core.

In London, it’s also being fuelled by a city policy not to charge developers growth fees for downtown residential projects. Instead, taxpayers absorb that cost — charges levied to pay for services needed for growth — to help stimulate the downtown.

The city has also doubled down with plans for more core investment of its own — a revamped Dundas Street streetscape, a redesigned waterfront, more bike lanes and the proposed bus rapid transit system.

“We can see downtown is improving and ,as the residential amenities downtown improve, as demographics change, there is more interest in living downtown. We are seeing more demand,” said Fleming.

“I think several of those (highrise projects) will be built over five to 10 years. I don’t have a number, but I believe there will be multiple buildings.”

But could it lead to a saturated downtown market, with too many highrises?

The proposed public improvements in the core — especially rapid transit — are designed to increase interest in the downtown and draw even more people to live there.

“I would not put out a hard date on when we are full. As we mature, as the core improves, the market will respond to demand over time,” said Fleming.

Developments also go in spurts. A rash of building may occur, followed by a lull before the next wave. London saw two towers built on Dundas Street, just west of Colborne Avenue, followed by the Renaissance twin towers on King Street and now the Azure tower.

There may be a pause before the next wave.

“The nature of my business as a planner is to keep an eye on the long game. We are improving, the market is interested in downtown. We will not see all these towers at once, but in staggered development,” said Fleming.

London private-sector planner Greg Priamo is also bullish on the core. He sees a lot of building on the horizon for downtown. It may take a long time, but it’ll happen, he maintains.

“It is not a question of if, but when. It is not uncommon for a community like London to have a large inventory” of housing stock, he said.

“When circumstances are right for each developer and in the market, you will see projects executed. They will proceed.”

Priamo agrees with Fleming that downtown investment and the development fee policy is driving interest, along with the growing number of younger people drawn to the core, with Fanshawe College expanding there and more technology businesses in the city centre.

“There is an increasing demand for housing downtown. Could the market support 10 towers now? No. But in 10 years? Yes.”

It’s also important to know that different towers target different sectors of the market. Some may be luxury highrises, others mid-level rentals, still other for students.

“There are a lot of different segments,” said Priamo. “No one has a crystal ball.”

ndebono@postmedia.com

DOWNTOWN LONDONERS

How many: 7,059

Average age: 33.8

Median household income: $49,011

DOWNTOWN HIGHRISE APPLICATIONS

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

505 Talbot St.:

Who: Tricar Group

What: 29-storey, 200-unit Azure luxury condo tower.

Status: Construction at 18th floor, tower 30 per cent sold, completion in about two years.

IN THE WINGS

150 Dundas St.

Who: Rygar Properties Inc.

What: 27-storey, 200-unit apartment building targeted at downtown Fanshawe College students with ground-floor commercial space.

Status: Planned.

89 to 97 King St.

Who: York Developments

What: 31-storey highrise, 250 units, ground and second-floor commercial space; 272 parking spaces.

Status: Planned

515 Richmond St.

Who: Old Oak Properties

What: 175-unit, 101-metre apartment tower with one- and two-bedroom units. Retail plaza there would be demolished.

Status: Planned

455 Clarence St.

Who: Landowner George Anastasiadis.

What: 32-storey, 182-unit residential project.

Status: Approved by city hall; partnering with Southside Group owner Vito Frijia.

100 Fullarton St. 475-501 Talbot St., 93-95 Dufferin Ave.

Who: Rygar Properties

What: $300-million, 703-unit, two-tower project linked by nine-storey building.

Status: Approved; row of Victorian townhomes, Camden Terrace, demolished on the site with its facade saved.

ON HOLD:

King and Clarence streets

Who: Danforth London Ltd.

What: Two towers, 35 and 32 storeys, totalling 698 units, with a third low-rise building with retail, commercial and more residential space, valued at about $300 million.

Status: Builder Tony Graat has shelved; lawsuit filed; city wants land strip there for rapid transit.

83 King St.

Who: Southside Group

What: $40-million, 25-storey, 200-unit residential highrise.

Status: Application denied by city. Developer wanted to tear down a crumbling building dating to 1892 with a heritage designation. Southside now proposing a design to incorporate heritage facade.

50 King St.

Who: Middlesex County

What: $100 million, 30-storey, 200-unit residential highrise, with 4,500 sq. m of commercial space,

Status: Nearby Renaissance Towers residents have expressed concern it will block their Thames River view.

560 and 562 Wellington St. at Wolfe Street

Who: Auburn Developments Inc.

What: 22-storey residential tower, just north of Centennial Hall.

Status: Building design altered after area residents consulted in historic Woodfield area, reducing its scale and its front podium from four stories to three. More community meetings planned in the spring.

OLD EAST VILLAGE (off downtown)

Lyle and Dundas streets

Who: Medallion Corp.

What: On a site with two apartment towers already built, a 21-storey, 66-metre apartment tower with up to 299 residential units.

Status: Under construction.

809 Dundas St.

Who: Paramount Developments Inc.

What: 600-unit, multi-tower residential project across from the provincial offences court building.

Status: Proposed, no application yet.