London developer Shmuel Farhi continues to become a major player in developing Windsor's downtown.

Farhi has agreed to purchase a 24,000-square-foot, two-storey office building in the 200 block of Pitt Street West connected to the riverfront Radisson hotel, according to several sources.

Farhi said Wednesday the paperwork has not been completed, but he hopes that can happen by the end of the month.

"The deal is not yet finalized," he said. "Let's be patient."

He did not want to discuss any further details about the deal until it is complete.

The agreement to buy the downtown building follows his purchase in late April of the former Bill Docherty-owned parking garage across Pitt Street for $4.08 million.

The garage would play a key role in Farhi's downtown development plans. He has said offering parking to tenants in his buildings is critical to leasing.

He owns 87 downtown sites in London, including 16 parking lots.

The Radisson office building is attached to the parking garage by an overhead crosswalk.

Sources said Farhi is working alongside Mayor Eddie Francis in discussions with officials from the University of Windsor and St. Clair College to create a new joint post-secondary complex in the downtown core that could house up to 1,000 students. It was unknown whether that use would utilize existing buildings or new ones would be constructed.