More workers mandated back to their offices a potential boost for downtown business

Good news London — the latest figures show the city's downtown office vacancy rate is no longer the worst in Canada.

Instead, we're the second worst.

And with more companies bringing employees back to the office, instead of remote work, the number of people in the core going for walks, grabbing lunch or staying for an afternoon pint is steadily climbing.

"Our numbers have been going up since COVID. We had 32,000 employees in the downtown in 2021 and as of 2024, we're back up to about 40,000," said Vicky Smith, the head of Downtown London, which advocates for businesses in the core.

"It's still lower than pre-COVID but we are trending in the right direction."

Before the pandemic, the downtown workforce was about 48,000 people, Smith said.

TD bank, which has office workers in two towers at Wellington and Dundas streets, has mandated non-executive staff to return to work four days a week minimum, though the exact date is unknown because the bank refused CBC's requests for comment.

"Just having more people out and about downtown, that's only going to improve the downtown," Smith said.

"People will be going to work, out for lunch, they'll be going out to the businesses on their lunch breaks. Restaurants probably especially will notice the difference, but people will be visiting our retail and personal services businesses, getting things done on their breaks."

A TD spokesperson declined to comment about the return-to-office mandate or how many people it will affect in London.

In a memo to employees, TD’s chief human resources officer Melanie Burns said the bank has found working in person helps collaboration, decision-making, learning and outcomes, as well as aids in career development and company culture.

Royal Bank, BMO and Scotiabank also announced a return to in-person work this fall. Another major London employer, Canada Life, mandates most of its employees to work in-office a minimum of three days a week. City Hall also mandates its workers be downtown four days a week.

London's current core vacancy rate is 30 per cent, down from a record 31.4 per cent at the same time last year, according to numbers released by the commercial real estate company CBRE.

The conversion of 376 Richmond St. from office building to residential lofts, currently underway, helped remove it from the office space inventory and added 41 residential units, CBRE reported.