Meet the people working at dizzying heights to lift London out of a housing crisis

As all levels of government work to lift Canada out of a housing crisis and more attention turns to building up rather than out, tradespeople labouring atop London's tallest building say they're happy to be working to grow the city's housing supply.

That's despite the challenges that come with nerve-testing experiences like staying safe while perched more than 130 metres above the city streets, weathering sometimes brutal elements, and staying on building schedule all at once.

"It's pretty amazing, especially when you can start and finish a building. You start with nothing, and you end up with 652 homes for people. All in a small little blueprint," said Morgan Nichol, a construction site supervisor for Old Oak, the project's developer.

Nichol watched Centro, a massive development at 100 Fullarton St. that spans an entire city block and features the highest tower in London, go from an idea to a massive and almost complete structure. One tower is so tall that on a clear day, you can catch a glimpse of wind turbines near Kerwood, Ont., nearly 50 kilometres away, Nichol said.

The process of building Centro has been lengthy, which Nichol said is no surprise given the scale of the project. Its towers are 40 and 29 storeys tall.

It's one of several highrise projects either underway, recently approved, or recently completed in London, with city politicians looking favourably on developments that serve the official plan of densification.

With the 40-storey tower close to completion, and the 29-storey tower not far behind, the work that's happened so far is the outcome of tens of sometimes up to 150 people at one time working seamlessly together, Nichol said.

"Hundreds of years of experience in all kinds of areas," she said. "I'm not an expert in any [of the work], and I can go to any one of the foremen, and they'll always know exactly what to do."

On the 29th floor of the north tower, workers tie rebar, haul pieces of steel, cut plywood, measure the thickness of the walls, and more. Inside the taller tower, other workers finalize units, paint, and do drywall work.

Many of them are represented by LiUNA Local 1059. As a steward for the union and an employee of Old Oak, John Raposo said he's seen an increase in the demand for skilled tradespeople in the region who are willing to work at these heights.

"Most definitely in London," he said. "Highrises seem to be the way to go now."

From atop the 40-storey south tower, Raposo told CBC he was first involved with Centro before the buildings were there. Though he worked on other sites before returning to Centro, he said the challenges of working hundreds of metres in the sky are something many tradespeople are well-acquainted with.

"Mother nature [is a challenge]," Raposo said. "You might come in in the morning, and it might be beautiful, but within two hours, it could get pretty nasty."

What feels like heavy wind on the ground feels even more intense when you're 100 metres in the air with nothing to break the wind, he said.

Wind is also a driver of work stoppages, especially when it's enough to make operating cranes or elevators dangerous.
"But we're very capable," Raposo said.

In terms of the traits that are required for working at heights, bravery is helpful, according to Carlos Pereira, a form setter for J-AAR Structures and a LiUNA member.

"You do get used to it, but I'd be lying if I said you're never nervous from time to time," he said.

Pereira, as well as all workers in the province who work at heights, is required to have a specialized training certificate before being allowed on the job site.

"It comes to harnesses, inspections, tie-off points, anchors. How to properly anchor yourself too, because there's a lot to it," Pereira said.

Not everyone is cut out for it, but workers who aren't comfortable at heights aren't shunned.

"If you have somebody that is afraid of heights, if they go to the foreman and tell them what's going on, they can usually find them something a little bit easier to do, or maybe get them into a different project," Raposo said.

Regardless of the challenges, the reward that comes with seeing the building completed is more than enough motivation for Raposo and his colleagues.

"It could go from one extreme to the next, but so it's great that I wouldn't trade it for anything," Raposo said.