In a move that will bring hundreds of new jobs to London, the Western Fair District is transforming several of its old buildings into a new agri-business hub.
Dubbed "The Grove", the new agri-food industry venture will help entrepreneurs incubate and accelerate their start-ups while also connecting them with other agri-food businesses, producers, and educators. The Western Fair has roughly 200,000 square feet of space available for the agri-business hub within its Canada, Progress, and West Annex buildings and the former Club House spice factory. Each building will be renovated for use in food production, growing, retail, education, and business services.
"When we create the right conditions to help companies start-up, grow and prosper, it's a fairly stable venture," said Western Fair CEO Reg Ash.
He would not say whether the new agri-business hub would make up for the money that will be lost when Gateway Casinos and Entertainment move from the Western Fair to a new location in the city's southwest end.
"This will give us diversified revenue streams that will help assist us," Ash stated.
The number of tenants that will call The Grove home will depend on the amount of space each new addition requires.
LiveFit was announced Thursday as The Grove's first major tenant. The four-year-old company provides freshly prepared meals for delivery to the door of consumers. It will take over 30,000 square feet in the Canada Building, with plans to grow its workforce from 120 to 320 within seven months.
"We'll be hiring cooks, management, marketing personnel, every position needed to keep up with the demand," said LiveFit President and CEO Nick Spina.
LiveFit currently only delivers provincewide but has plans to expand across Canada by January and break into the United States within nine months. Following that growth, Spina stated it will go on a hiring spree once again, adding another 450 positions.
Spina said he was attracted to The Grove as his company's vision and goals a line perfectly with those of the Western Fair District.
"It is a dream come true for us. We are going to be adding a walk-in production fridge, it's over 2,000 square feet, and we are going to be adding in multiple ovens. It will be one of the biggest kitchens you'll ever see," said Spina. "We will have the ability to produce over 11 million meals annually out of our new location."
The Middlesex London Food Policy Council has also announced it is moving into The Grove.