A new furniture store is looking to capitalize on downtown London’s growing population | CBC News

As new high-rises continue to fill the London skyline, with more planned that would add thousands of units to the core’s housing stock, a Brampton-based business owner is hoping to furnish as many of them as possible.

In about four years, the core has gained at least four residential towers, adding nearly 1,000 units to the market. Another seven have either been approved for construction, or are being built, that would add roughly 4,000 more.

They include an ambitious two-tower project at 267 York St., at York and Wellington streets. It’s set to bring as many as 1,067 units to an area of the city in need of density, and from where all three bus rapid transit routes will operate.

For Kaviraj Singh, it means plenty of potential business opportunities for his new furniture store in the former Hakim Optical building at King and Clarence streets.

“Where we are right now, we don’t have a furniture store like us in at least five to seven kilometres,” said Singh, founder of The Bedroom Boutique and the London-based Mi Casa by The Bedroom Boutique, which is set to open Saturday.

“Everyone who is coming to downtown, they have to cross [King Street] … People will see the name again and again, Mi Casa, so whenever they plan to buy any kind of furniture or home decor, they know where to go.”

Singh launched The Bedroom Boutique a year ago in Brampton, opening a retail location selling bedroom sets, including mattresses made in the city. Positive reception motivated him to expand to London, drawn by the city’s growth, its potential for new business, and its location between Toronto and Detroit, he said.

Unlike the Brampton store, Singh says Mi Casa will sell other home furnishings too, including designs of his own making. About 60 per cent of items are from India, with about 40 per cent from Canada, plus additional items from Italy, he said.

The eventual goal, he said, is to have all items designed in-house, and to potentially expand to other cities, such as Windsor. 

Ward 13 Coun. David Ferreira, whose ward covers the downtown, said the core is seeing an influx of new residential developments, creating demand for new businesses and services, such as Singh’s furniture store.

That demand also extends to a full-size grocery store, which remains elusive in the downtown. Ferreira says he’s been in many discussions about opening a grocery store, and says he’s heard “three different possibilities that may come out.”

“I haven’t seen anything yet, but there’s more than one person talking about opening a grocery store downtown right now, which is a good thing,” he said.

“I’ve heard of more, like, a local kind of shop opening up, a local grocer… The other examples would be locations where there’s a hope that maybe a grocer would have interest in the area.”

The boost in residential units comes as the downtown commercial real estate market continues to struggle. At least 31.4 per cent of downtown office space was vacant in September, according to a report from CBRE.

The long-term future of the core will be the focus of the upcoming downtown master plan, which will serve as a guiding document for how the downtown should be built out. Ferreira says he hopes the document will be tabled next month.