WINDSOR | Construction - News and Development

[arnold]

^
that's good news. that old station was awful. where's the new one going? will it be the new greyhound station as well? and are there any plans for the old station yet?

[Blitz]

There aren't plans for the old bus station, hopefully they tear down that piece of crap as soon as possible.

The new one is being built at Dougall and Chatham (where the old Canadian Tire store was). Greyhound will be housed there as well.

[arnold]

have they released any drawings of the new station?

that old station location would be a great place for a new highrise condo building. that is, as long as the tunnel vent doesn't smog the place up too much...

[upinottawa]

Originally Posted by arnold

have they released any drawings of the new station?

that old station location would be a great place for a new highrise condo building. that is, as long as the tunnel vent doesn't smog the place up too much...

A new arena, perhaps?

I also wonder what they are going to do with the old bus station site. Obviously, they will remove any reminder of the ugly old station.

I have not seen any renderings of the new station, however I do recall hearing that the station will be smaller than originally planned (Greyhound will not have its own booth, rather Transit Windsor will sell Greyhound tickets).

Its too bad that the City could not have combined its new transit centre and Greyhound operations with a new downtown Via Station....

[westerntragedy]

Originally Posted by upinottawa

Its too bad that the City could not have combined its new transit centre and Greyhound operations with a new downtown Via Station....

Yes! Ha! That would be nice, but more trains running through the city, ack.

Speaking of trains, I hear from a friend that construction on the rail overpass on Walker Road is about to begin for real this time. Friend said he heard the man who owns the battery store finally settled for half a million. Anyone have any news about this? It's probably old news, hah, but I just heard it so.. heh

[upinottawa]

Rumour has it that the federal government will purchase the rail line that Via uses (owned by CN) and then abandon that line. Via will then run its trains on the line that runs past the Windsor Airport. The new Windsor station will be located at the Airport or off of Wellington somewhere near the train tunnel to Detroit.

Anyone else have more details or better information?

[westerntragedy]

Yes indeed, there was an article in the Windsor Star back in (January was it?) when the news broke about this. Suggestions in the article were that the old VIA line may become a public walk/bike path (hah imagine Windsor's riverfront continuing to Chatham -- Chrysler Canada Trail outdone by lakeside beauty I say!). I thought I remember reading that portions may also be used as a local road or a more express county route.. Alas that's the only info I remember from the article, maybe someone else has some links or more detail

[upinottawa]

Removing those tracks should significantly increase property values along the Lake and should promote a sharp increase in development or redevelopment in that part of the county.

A new trail in the city would add to the quality of life in the east end.

I wonder if there have been any discussions with what will become of the land currently occupied by the Ford Casting Plant when it shuts down. That land must be rather polluted, but the right redevelopment projects could inject some much needed life to that part of town.

[upinottawa]

Originally Posted by Blitz

Arnold, there are two possible locations: the airport, and Wellington Road near Wyandotte. They'll be abandoning the whole rail line from Windsor to Chatham since it's only being used by Via. I see your point about the station needing to be near downtown but I think the benefits of this plan are huge. We'll get rid of dozens of at-grade crossings in Windsor/Essex, and the east side of the metro will no longer be cut in half by these tracks.

The only sensible use for the old rail line IMO is a bike path. The current path that meanders along the river ends at Walker Road and the Ganatchio Trail ends at Lauzon Road. So all we'd need to do is connect those two through the use of this line and we'd have a 20km crosstown bike path from the Bridge all the way to the east city limits. There has been some talk of light rail but I'm not sure the market is big enough to support that. Anyway, here's an article that appeared this morning:



Via Rail scouts Windsor site
Options include area near airport and old depot near Wellington Road

By Dave Battagello
The Windsor Star
Jan. 21, 2006

Via Rail has been scouting possible sites for a new rail station in Windsor, according to a spokeswoman for the passenger service.
“We are looking at a number of options, but no decision has been made,” said Catherine Kaloutsky.
“We recognize with the Windsor station there is a need to upgrade and improve. But no decisions have been made on relocation.”
A $500-million federal plan calls for the 90-kilometre CN rail line used largely by Via passenger trains between Windsor and Chatham to be abandoned.
The government funds will twin a CP Railway line from two to four tracks and construct several road-rail grade separations to help increase the speed of both freight and passenger service. Work is expected to be completed within about five years.
Relocation of the Via station in Walkerville is part of the plan. A site near the airport and the old CP Rail depot near Wellington Avenue close to the entrance of the Detroit River rail tunnel are among options being discussed, sources said.
“There are a few options out there,” Kaloutsky said. “We’re in a position where we are looking at the possibilities and talking to CP. We are looking for solutions that will allow us to provide downtown service to customers.”
A cargo facility at the airport where air, rail and truck freight can be exchanged will also become a reality under the deal.
Construction and servicing of the property off Lauzon Parkway where the CP tracks cut through the airport’s northeast corner has an estimated cost of $30 million to $40 million, according to city officials.
The feds and the city are negotiating who will pay those costs.
A federal cabinet minister said the railway agreement is “not a question of if, but when.”
“There have been a lot of talks between Transport Canada, the mayor and myself on the (cargo facility) and rail consolidation,” said MP Joe Fontana, the labour and housing minister from London.
“It’s going well. No doubt it’s an incredible opportunity for Windsor. We are going to make it happen. We need to make sure Windsor is operating effectively as it can. Rail is a very important part of that.”
A solution has been agreed upon by the railways, city and feds, but final terms continue to be negotiated, the minister said.
“It’s an opportunity for win-win for everybody,” Fontana said. “Windsor is an important gateway to North America. We need to make sure it functions well. It’s never been a question of money, but a question of doing it right.”

With respect to the rail line question, I should have done more browsing -- this was found on page one of this thread.

If Windsor's only train station will be at the airport, I think that would be horrible. It would make it very expensive for students to get to the train station, making it more difficult for St. Clair and U of W to attract students from the GTA and beyond.

I would prefer the station to be downtown, i.e. near the tunnel, especially if Via wants to connect with Amtrak trains out of Detroit heading to Chicago. Could Windsor support two stations -- one downtown and one at the airport? I think the answer to that is no, especially since Chatham captures a lot of the Essex County passengers.

[upinottawa]

City boosts urban village

Roseann Danese, Windsor Star
Published: Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Developers willing to build an urban village on and around the long-vacant Western Super Anchor site will be offered financial incentives to make something happen.

Sixteen years after the property was expropriated for an arena and multi-use centre, the land will now be the subject of an urban renewal plan that has been in the works for three years.

"Sixteen years of indecision on this property has put city centre west in the position of needing your help," Mark Boscariol, chairman of the Downtown Windsor BIA, told city council Monday.

"The land we are talking about has been tied up for 16 years," he said.

"It has prevented growth in the surrounding community due to a lack of a clear vision for over a decade."

The public will have an opportunity to comment on the incentives for the next 20 days. Following that, the city will seek provincial approval.

Mayor Eddie Francis described an urban village as a district within the city that is redeveloped "to include a number of different uses." The uses can include residential development, in the form of both highrise buildings and town homes, as well as commercial development, "all within the same area that is supported by transit, that's supposed to be pedestrian-friendly."

Developers would be rewarded based on how well their ideas reflect the city's vision for the urban village in the city centre. Those submitting "gold" level design plans will receive the most in incentives, such as rebates on development fees and building permit fees. There will also be silver and bronze design levels that will "unlock" the incentives, Francis said. "You're trying to encourage people to come forward."

Francis said the bulk of the fees will be rebates because municipalities are not allowed under the provisions of the Municipal Act to offer cash to private developers. The city is also willing to cap property taxes for 10 years on the new development, allowing developers to pay taxes on the property's value as it existed before it was developed.

The city will also pay half of five feasibility studies, up to $20,000 for each one, required by developers to decide whether the project is worth pursuing.

"This type of package is meant to entice the type of development we're looking for, the development of the urban village," Francis said.

"By telling developers what we're looking for and then matching that performance with incentives, that's going to be sufficient enough for them to come forward and develop the lands," he said.

"It's providing them the incentive without costing us anything to actually get it done."

Boscariol said financial incentives offered to developers in Niagara Falls, North Bay, London and Toronto have "paid for themselves" and resulted in revitalization in downtown areas and elsewhere.

© The Windsor Star 2006

[arnold]

i hope that they go really dense in this area. and not necessarily with a bunch of highrises, but condos and town homes with street level retail. something with the feel (but not look) of a whistler village would do quite nicely, IMO.
oh, and underground parking please...

[Blitz]

^ I get the sense that's what they're thinking with this. Just two years ago, Windsor set up an entire Urban Design Planning agenda: http://www.citywindsor.ca/001840.asp
Any new construction in town has to conform to this agenda...e.g. the new retail complex currently going up at Walker & Tecumseh is much closer to the road then it would've been under previous administrations.

[upinottawa]

^ which corner of Tecumseh and Walker (I know there are gas stations at two of those corners)? What is going in there?

I wonder how many residential units will be added to downtown via the urban village. From my experience in Ottawa, these new units will not come cheap. I wonder who will be the target audience? Students (probably too expensive for most students unless Windsor gets a "real" full-scale medical school)? Empty nest-ers? Young professionals (what is the job market like for young professionals in Windsor)? Young Canadians working in Detroit?

Ultimately, I think this is a good idea as more people downtown will diversify the area and hopefully bring in new retail. I just hope the market exists for this project.

Any renderings for that transit centre?

[Blitz]

They tore down the gas station and the plaza that were on the NW corner of Tec & Walker and are building some sort of retail complex (I can't remember what's going in there though).

Haven't seen any renderings for the bus depot yet.

[yupislyr]

Originally Posted by Blitz

They tore down the gas station and the plaza that were on the NW corner of Tec & Walker and are building some sort of retail complex (I can't remember what's going in there though).

At least part of it is a new Bank of Montreal branch. They may end up consolidating other branches into the new one similarly to what CIBC has done in the east end.

[upinottawa]

The following link has some discussion of the new Windsor bus terminal (along with a link to some pictures of the old Detroit Fort Street Greyhound station).

http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/...tml?1146013946

[arnold]

the news on that link doesn't sound very promising...

[upinottawa]

Originally Posted by arnold

the news on that link doesn't sound very promising...

Yah. Unfortunately in today's political environment it is easier to build on the cheap than build a landmark that promotes civic pride.

Ideally, I would have liked to see a Via/Greyhound/Transit Windsor station, but that would involve a lot of intergovernmental agreement.

About the current bus station: when I am in Windsor with friends from out of town, I will usually take them over to Detroit for a game or to show them downtown. In doing so, I prefer to take the tunnel bus. However, in doing so they get to experience Windsor's bus station, and -- as anyone who has ever been done there can attest -- the station is so ugly and dirty (never mind the state of the bathrooms) that it is an embarrassment to the City of Windsor.

The city needs to recognize that a lot of people from out of town take the tunnel bus and the quality of the bus station creates a lasting impression.

[Blitz]

^ I'm going to a Tigers game with some people from out of town next month and while I usually take the tunnel bus, I'm driving them over instead - all because I'd rather not subject them to Windsor's disgusting bus station.

[arnold]

^can't you catch the tunnel bus anywhere else on the windsor side? like at the mouth of the tunnel or something?