WINDSOR | Construction - News and Development

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by north 42

Nice find! Great to see some infill in Little Italy, should be a nice addition to the street. That is where a restaurant burned down a couple of years ago, it’s a great location.

Agreed, it really fits in well with the neighbourhood and I believe it's also on a bus route too! Oh right, I forgot about that. Glad to see the space getting some new life!

[ericmacm]

I just came across some information on the Farhi Holdings website. For Farhi's two vacant land parcels at Riverside and Janette, it appears that the plan for now is to redevelop them into 24s twin condo towers, with 150 suites each. Unfortunately, there are no renderings for this plan.

However, that is not the interesting part. I saw that the site was updated (image file is dated July 2019) with an old rendering for a giant, grotesque 30s slab of a residential tower that would have occupied both sites, being built over the roadway. It would have been a very interesting thing to see in the skyline and would have dwarfed everything else, but it's probably for the better that this monster didn't end up getting built.

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by ericmacm

I just came across some information on the Farhi Holdings website. For Farhi's two vacant land parcels at Riverside and Janette, it appears that the plan for now is to redevelop them into 24s twin condo towers, with 150 suites each. Unfortunately, there are no renderings for this plan.

However, that is not the interesting part. I saw that the site was updated (image file is dated July 2019) with an old rendering for a giant, grotesque 30s slab of a residential tower that would have occupied both sites, being built over the roadway. It would have been a very interesting thing to see in the skyline and would have dwarfed everything else, but it's probably for the better that this monster didn't end up getting built.

Very nice! I know he's made some proposals in the past for some of his vacant parcels on Riverside. Hopefully these actually go through this time. Do you have a link to the plan on the site? I tried poking around but couldn't find it

Wow, that thing is crazy! I'm getting some Michigan Central Station vibes from it for sure I wonder if that rendering was for the Farhi library plan from a while back? Looks like the first couple of floors could have housed something like it. That's still a great find though. Was that also on the site?

[ericmacm]

Originally Posted by AmateurPlanner

Very nice! I know he's made some proposals in the past for some of his vacant parcels on Riverside. Hopefully these actually go through this time. Do you have a link to the plan on the site? I tried poking around but couldn't find it

Wow, that thing is crazy! I'm getting some Michigan Central Station vibes from it for sure I wonder if that rendering was for the Farhi library plan from a while back? Looks like the first couple of floors could have housed something like it. That's still a great find though. Was that also on the site?

This is the link to the page. Unfortunately there really isn't much else there except for the text that describes the plan for the site, a survey of the two parcels, and this rendering.

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by ericmacm

This is the link to the page. Unfortunately there really isn't much else there except for the text that describes the plan for the site, a survey of the two parcels, and this rendering.

Ahhhh, well hopefully we'll get more details in the near future. Thanks for sending this over!

[AmateurPlanner]

Not a massive development proposal, but looks to be a solid renovation going on at the old Bentley's Roadhouse on Ouellette. I know that building has been vacant for so long, so it's nice to see some new life getting put into it! From the article, renovations are slated to be complete in March or April, and after that it looks like a doctor's office and pharmacy in the front, with a small pharmaceutical lab in the back.

Link to article: https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...medical-centre

[north 42]

Originally Posted by AmateurPlanner

Not a massive development proposal, but looks to be a solid renovation going on at the old Bentley's Roadhouse on Ouellette. I know that building has been vacant for so long, so it's nice to see some new life getting put into it! From the article, renovations are slated to be complete in March or April, and after that it looks like a doctor's office and pharmacy in the front, with a small pharmaceutical lab in the back.

Link to article: https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...medical-centre

This is great news, one more vacant eyesore that will now be brought back to life!

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by north 42

This is great news, one more vacant eyesore that will now be brought back to life!

Agreed! The renderings in the article look nice as well

[north 42]

Just found this new proposal for a 4 storey condo development in Southwood Lakes.

Also a 4 storey apartment building on the corner of Tecumseh and Cambell.

http://www.windsorontarionews.com/wi...al-estate.html

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by north 42

Just found this new proposal for a 4 storey condo development in Southwood Lakes.

Also a 4 storey apartment building on the corner of Tecumseh and Cambell.

http://www.windsorontarionews.com/wi...al-estate.html

Very nice! Both proposals bring some nice infill to their respective areas, and both look to be on bus routes too! I'm not sure of the track record for either developer, but hopefully come the spring we'll see some shovels in the ground!

Also thanks for sharing that site, it looks like it has a ton of developments on there!

[north 42]

Originally Posted by AmateurPlanner

Very nice! Both proposals bring some nice infill to their respective areas, and both look to be on bus routes too! I'm not sure of the track record for either developer, but hopefully come the spring we'll see some shovels in the ground!

Also thanks for sharing that site, it looks like it has a ton of developments on there!

Hey, NP, it’s a pretty good site

[AmateurPlanner]

Hopefully this isn't a major setback for the Graffiti project

https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...affiti-project

It sounds like there are concerns about loss of views once the project is complete it kind of seems like NIMBYism to me, although I don't live within the vicinity of the project so I can't say for sure. I really think density is needed, especially on a major bus route and near the University, and the fact that there is a heritage building preservation and cleaning up a brownfield site is a win-win to me.

From the article, the vote to rezone the property has been deferred until December to give the development company (AIPL) time to speak with the residents who have concerns. I guess we'll have to wait and see what comes out of that

[ericmacm]

It's absolutely NIMBYism.

Unfortunate that they'd rather keep their "view" than revitalize a totally abandoned parcel of land that would likely result in their property values rising. Saying it "doesn't fit in with the neighbourhood" is also a stretch when there is literally a 17s condo tower on the adjacent property.

[north 42]

How ridiculous! You can’t live in a SFH and expect your views to be there for eternity. Especially when you have a highrise condo tower right next door. These NIMBY’S have absolutely no case whatsoever.
They should be thrilled that someone is trying to improve their neighborhood with such investments.

[AmateurPlanner]

I absolutely agree with both of you. I almost forgot about the Portofino tower right behind there, so their case seems to be on shaky legs at best. I really hope these folks don't scare away the developer with this, although I think they have already sunk some money in with clean-up so maybe they are more committed?

I was thinking the same thing as well. It seems like a no-brainer to fill in a brownfield site near a residential area with more residents and life then leave it as-is. It really frustrated me when I saw this, as I really think this project is kind of leading the way when it comes to revitalizing University Ave.

Also, I think their point about lack of parking is moot. University Ave already has a ton of on-street parking, and even if some of it gets removed when they overhaul the street, I think the fact that they are gearing these towards students (who typically take transit) will erase any issues that they might have with parking "overflowing".

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by north 42

Just found this new proposal for a 4 storey condo development in Southwood Lakes.

Also a 4 storey apartment building on the corner of Tecumseh and Cambell.

http://www.windsorontarionews.com/wi...al-estate.html

Looks like some more bad news here with some NIMBYs in Southwood Lakes it sounds like the developer is really trying to work with the neighbours on this (making the building as far as possible from neighbouring properties, only building residential, etc), but residents are still pushing back hard.

From the article below, it sounds like one of the planners with the city is pushing back, saying that since North Talbot and 6th Concession are collector roads anyway, intensification makes sense, which I completely agree with. From the article, it sounds like this re-zoning proposal is also being deferred to December as well

Link to article: https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...box=1605664091

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by AmateurPlanner

Looks like some more bad news here with some NIMBYs in Southwood Lakes it sounds like the developer is really trying to work with the neighbours on this (making the building as far as possible from neighbouring properties, only building residential, etc), but residents are still pushing back hard.

From the article below, it sounds like one of the planners with the city is pushing back, saying that since North Talbot and 6th Concession are collector roads anyway, intensification makes sense, which I completely agree with. From the article, it sounds like this re-zoning proposal is also being deferred to December as well

Link to article: https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...box=1605664091

With respect to the Tecumseh and Campbell development, it looks like there were no opponents at the council meeting, so it sounds like it will be going forward. At least there is some bright side, although small

Link to article: https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...-neglected-lot

[north 42]

Originally Posted by AmateurPlanner

Looks like some more bad news here with some NIMBYs in Southwood Lakes it sounds like the developer is really trying to work with the neighbours on this (making the building as far as possible from neighbouring properties, only building residential, etc), but residents are still pushing back hard.

From the article below, it sounds like one of the planners with the city is pushing back, saying that since North Talbot and 6th Concession are collector roads anyway, intensification makes sense, which I completely agree with. From the article, it sounds like this re-zoning proposal is also being deferred to December as well

Link to article: https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...box=1605664091

This is just getting ridiculous now! These people are idiots, a four storey condo will not ruin the neighborhood, it’s the perfect kind of infill that won’t change the character of the neighborhood, it will add to it.

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by north 42

This is just getting ridiculous now! These people are idiots, a four storey condo will not ruin the neighborhood, it’s the perfect kind of infill that won’t change the character of the neighborhood, it will add to it.

Agreed! To me, these are no-brainer projects that are activating vacant parcels of land into places where people can live. I've seen these types of low-rise developments in residential areas in other cities I've visited too. They're typically located right near bus/transit stops (which this one is), which is what I consider small-scale transit-oriented development.

Even if this had a small commercial component on the first floor (which it sounds like the developer is removing due to resident pushback based on the article), it would be good for residents of the building as well as folks who live nearby, as they could access the business by walking to it.

I really hope the developers and city planners don't cave too much, as these are solid infill developments

[north 42]

I don’t think that the city will cave on this one, this is exactly the kind of developments they have been trying to encourage. Hopefully they allow this and the Junction site on University to get built as proposed.