[Symz]

Mayor Eddie Francis is in the news talking about how he feels progress on the University bringing a satellite campus into the downtown armouries is moving too slow.

I'm going to bold the part that I thought was interesting.


http://www.windsorstar.com/Francis+w...404/story.html

WINDSOR, Ont. -- With a frustrated Mayor Eddie Francis accusing the University of Windsor of dragging its feet on construction of its proposed downtown campus sites, the school’s President Alan Wildeman is advising patience for projects worth the wait.

Francis, reacting to a story in the Star Tuesday about the university’s plans to bring cutting edge art programs to the new Armories campus when it opens, said he would like to “see more action and less talk and dreams” from the university.

“Am I satisfied? No I’m not,” said Francis Tuesday. “I’ve expressed to the university that I’d like to see things moving more quickly, go from talking to executing ... It’s been a year since we made the armories accessible.”

Francis said he is convinced that private enterprise would have taken advantage of the city property much sooner and there would be some action evident on site. He said that location coupled with the university’s proposed redevelopment of the Windsor Star building are integral to the future strategy of planning the downtown core.

He suggested the slow pace could prove a detriment to other future downtown developments, including “a couple” of possible projects he expects to be officially announced within weeks.

“I keep being told there’s a process to be followed,” said the mayor. “Maybe, that’s the way the universities operate. But I look at it from the city’s perspective and we’d like to see shovels in the ground ... The other projects aren’t linked to the university but they are all pieces of the our strategic plan. Council is heading into budget sessions and will have questions. I’d like to have some answers.”

But Wildeman replied that much progress has been made.

“I guess I’d say we’ve worked hard and accomplished a lot the past five months,” said Wildeman. “We have architects engaged designing buildings and we’ve announced a new academic unit for the armories. This is a great opportunity for students in the long term.”

However, Wildeman cautioned that mobilizing the movement of entire faculties, thousands of staff and students and creating new programs with upgraded equipment is not something that happens over night.

Nevertheless, he added, that he has been involved in other building projects at other post secondary institutions and, comparatively speaking, the work is progressing more quickly in this instance.

“We want to make sure we get it right,” said Wildeman. “We can’t be compared with the private sector. We can’t put a date on shovels in the ground.”

He said the university is committed to the armory and is working to finalize its review of the Star building.

He added he has reviewed the proposed architectural designs and has been “blow away” by them. “The city will be proud of its downtown.”

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