Here's some pictures of the University of Windsor's Engineering building going up @ Wyandotte & California.
Here's and update on the new VIA station. It has better visibility than the old station.
Here's an update on construction at the riverfront including the Riverfront Stage with all it's ammenities located in the rear of the building, there's a large wheelchair ramp also that you can't see in this picture. The large terrace at the back of the stage is not yet completed and there's still alot of landscaping it looks.
There are also some pictures of the new parking area located on top of the new $60 million dollar Riverfront Retention Treatment Basin. It looks pretty spiffy so far, but it's no open, I don't think it's done either.
Here's another update regarding the demolition of some of the run down houses east of the casino.
I can't wait to be able to walk the entire length of the Riverfront park again, it's been so long since I've been able to. The work looks good down there so far, but I wonder what the Landscaping along the festival plaza will look like when done?
I can't wait to be able to walk the entire length of the Riverfront park again, it's been so long since I've been able to. The work looks good down there so far, but I wonder what the Landscaping along the festival plaza will look like when done?
Well to give you a slightly better idea, buried somewhere in the Riverside Vista plan is a picture (among many) that shows Riverside drive along that portion of the river and how they want to actually have sidewalks along the north side of Riverside. I'll see if I can find it.
Here's a picture of the Vista project between Glengary and Louis Ave.
Ok, I just noticed they're moving the road over a bit as well and adding a decorative median for that intersection.
The City tonight approved the closure of Pitt street between Church street and Bruce to accommodate a ground level connection of the new library located in the new Aquatic Centre to the Art Gallery of Windsor. I'm not sure if this will still include the closure of Chatham street as well?
I thought that Riverside Dr. was to be one lane in each direction in the Vista plan, but in that drawing it shows 2 lanes in each direction. Maybe they're gonna keep the downtown portion that way for volume reasons.
I thought that Riverside Dr. was to be one lane in each direction in the Vista plan, but in that drawing it shows 2 lanes in each direction. Maybe they're gonna keep the downtown portion that way for volume reasons.
The spots where Riverside is currently one lane will remain 1 lane with periodic roundabouts at T-intersections like Eastlawn, St. Rose, Jefferson, St. Louis, Buckingham and Rossini. A bike lane will be added the whole length (only portions of Riverside have an alotted bike lane right now) and decorative medians will be added to other T-intersections such as Belleview, Strabane, Montreuil, and Cadillac.
There will be a pedestrian promenade along the north side of Riverside where the eastern portion of the downtown riverfront park starts at Lincoln stretching to just past Huron Church.
It's nice to see the north side of the Drive getting a pedestrian promenade, it's so neglected now. I hate the ugly fencing that's up along the eastern side of the drive downtown right now! So ghetto for such a beautiful park and view.
^ I know someone who complained to the city about that fence and the response from the parks director is that it's only temporary and we'll all be wowed when this is all done.
The Riverside Drive vista plan is really something - realistically, it'll be 20 years before it's all done but there is nothing like it anywhere in the region.
WINDSOR, Ont. -- The city has ordered an $8-million competition pool package for the future family aquatic and library centre.
The purchase includes the anticipated 50-metre Olympic-sized swimming pool, a 25-metre diving pool, a bubbling therapy pool, mechanical and filtration systems for all three pools, plus accessories such as a 10-metre diving tower, a movable pool wall, starting blocks, timers, scoreboards and more.
“It’s expensive,” admitted Coun. Drew Dilkens, who chairs the steering committee on the project.
“At the end of the day, when you look at the overall cost — Yes, it’s expensive. But we have to remember: We’re building a swimming pool. This is the major component of the facility.”
City council unanimously approved the purchase from Toronto-based pool sellers Nationwide Commercial Aquatics (NCAquatics) at a special meeting on Wednesday.
The package boasts such features as a movable floor for the diving pool, capable
of adjusting the depth from zero to a maximum of five metres.
The main swimming pool will have a maximum depth of 2.5 metres.
The pools will be built by the Italian company Myrtha Pools, which has also supplied swimming facilities to international sporting events such as the Olympic Games, the World Swimming Championships and the Southeast Asian Games.
Myrtha Pools are not made with concrete. Instead, their walls are stainless steel with PVC coating.
Keith Richardson, the president of NCAquatics, said the pre-engineered, modular design of Myrtha Pools makes them easier to clean and maintain — and also allows them to be constructed in a matter of weeks.
The total price tag is approximately $7.4 million, plus taxes.
Council’s approval on Wednesday included an immediate $150,000 deposit payment to NCAquatics, who are the sole distributor of Myrtha Pools in Canada.
According to Ramaker & Associates Inc., the city’s consultant on this phase of the project, Myrtha Pools have a value equivalent to that of similar-sized concrete pools.
The three pools will be located in the centre’s “natatorium” — the competitive swimming portion of the building.
Other plans for the section include seating for 1,800 spectators, an underwater viewing system and an on-site medical testing room.
^ I know someone who complained to the city about that fence and the response from the parks director is that it's only temporary and we'll all be wowed when this is all done.
The Riverside Drive vista plan is really something - realistically, it'll be 20 years before it's all done but there is nothing like it anywhere in the region.
Who knows? With Eddie in office, it could be implemented even quicker. I really hope so, it would do a lot for the city's image to have that drive finished and on display.
A portion of that fence along the north side of Riverside will be gone once they finish the street level terrace that extends behind the new stage from the intersection of Riverside and McDougal.
I'm just really happy that it's gonna happen since they weren't sure if the Star building would be suitable or not. Great news for that part of downtown.
A new commercial plaza is going up at the corner of Lauzon & Riverside in the city's east end. This lot has long been empty, I think even before my time and I'm in my 30's. It's across from the infamous Abars.
A new commercial plaza is going up at the corner of Lauzon & Riverside in the city's east end. This lot has long been empty, I think even before my time and I'm in my 30's. It's across from the infamous Abars.
It's about time something was done in that area, it's the only ghetto, ugly stretch along the Drive. The lot being developed used to be a gas station in the 80's. Hopefully this will spark more developement there and clean the area up.
The Palace Cinema could transform from this (The A Channel billboard has been removed since the station was purchased by CTV)
To a new Windsor Star building looking possibly like this rendering.
Quote:
Windsor, Ont. The Windsor Star is in negotiations with Mady Development Corp. to transform the Palace Theatres into a loft-style headquarters for the paper overlooking the city’s busiest downtown intersection, its publisher said Friday.
While not a done deal, publisher and editor-in-chief Marty Beneteau said he wanted to start talking about the paper’s plans to lease new space for its downtown offices before word leaked out and speculation started.
Moving The Star is contingent on the University of Windsor purchasing The Star’s historic home at the corner of Pitt and Ferry streets, which is too large for the paper. The university intends to create a satellite campus in several downtown buildings.
If that deal goes through, Mady Development will embark on a $3-million plan to renovate the top half of the Palace for lease to The Star. The paper would move 125 workers two blocks to the corner of Ouellette and University avenues.
“It’s the epicentre of downtown; the heart and soul,” Beneteau said. “We have said all along that we wish to create a great space for our employees and customers, and to practise what we’ve been preaching by reinvesting in the downtown and helping redevelop the downtown.”
David Mady, whose father Chuck Mady built the Palace Theatres for $10 million in 1986 after ripping down a 1920s vaudeville house of the same name, said it was “ironic and kind of fun” to be redeveloping his dad’s project a quarter of a century later.
“This is huge for the downtown,” Mady, 42, said Friday. “The Star could have left the downtown for an industrial park. Kudos to the mayor and The Star for their vision and out-of-the-box thinking.”
Mady said Mayor Eddie Francis brought the parties together, but it was Beneteau’s idea to transform the theatre space into offices. The theatres have remained open but been badly underused since Cineplex went bankrupt a decade ago.
Transforming the 25,000-square-foot space will entail a “complete gutting” of the building’s mezzanine and theatre floors, Mady said, while the existing commercial tenants — including A Channel television — continue to operate on the lower two floors.
“We’re starting from scratch — it’s going to be completely empty after we peel everything back” to the building’s steel girders, he said. “We’re going to reclad the entire building.”
“It’s going to be a really cool, high-tech work environment. We’re thinking of creating loft-type work offices with high ceilings, big windows on the north and west walls — you’ll be able to see in from the street.”
The exterior of the building will feature “substantial signage,” possibly with a wraparound news crawl across its face, “to capture the same energy you see in Time’s Square,” Mady said.
“Mr. Beneteau said let’s create something cutting edge and that’s what we’re doing.”
He’s using the same architects and engineering firm his father hired to redevelop the building, Hanna Ghobriel and Associates Ltd.
Alan Wildeman, president of the university, said its consultants are getting close to submitting their analysis and recommendations for The Star’s current building.
“Programming needs are the biggest issue — we have to make sure we can make it work for our students,” Wildeman said of his own renovation plans. “But we’re looking forward to getting the final bits done ... very soon.”
Wildeman said the old newspaper building “is a terrific opportunity because of its history, its location, and the size of it.”
Beneteau said The Star is anxious to move for similar reasons. A busier, higher-visibility downtown corner is more suitable for a publication heading into the digital age.
The publisher said The Star hopes to incorporate “some kind of public space” in its portion of the renovated Palace, “perhaps a cafe where people can come in and interact with us. It will have much more accessibility for the public than our current building,” he said.
“But we don’t have a relocation deal until we have a purchase agreement with the University of Windsor,” he cautioned.
The paper has also examined other properties and proposals since starting to look in March, Beneteau said.
“The significant thing is, we’re staying downtown and we’ve found an incredible home if this comes to fruition.”
The Star has been looking for ways to repurpose the three buildings that comprise its Ferry Street home since 1994, when it moved printing and production to its Starway site near E.C. Row Expressway.
It's about time something was done in that area, it's the only ghetto, ugly stretch along the Drive. The lot being developed used to be a gas station in the 80's. Hopefully this will spark more developement there and clean the area up.
Well, though I never posted about it months back there were 2 older homes adjacent to ABARS on the east side of the bar (across from the Mac's plaza) that have been torn down. The houses were old not extremely well maintained (one worse than the other) and one was still being rented out, but now they are both gone and there is just a large empty piece of riverfront property. I have to wonder if something is eventually going to be built there, who knows. It's at that point that Riverside begins to bend alot and it's tight quarters. I guess we'll have to wait and see once the Riverside Vista Project gets started what could happen to that stretch of Riverside.
I was glad to see those houses go, and I'm glad to see something new going up in the area.
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