Windsor talk

[cityguy]

The Doubletree has not opened yet, and nothing has happened on the adjacent lot.

[AmateurPlanner]

I didn't know there was a general Windsor discussion thread! Glad to find it I posted this in the development thread, but think it might be valid here as well. There's a new grocery store opening up in the Security Building downtown. This is a great addition, especially with all the new residential developments happening downtown.

Link to article: https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...t-for-downtown

I think we're at an inflection point with downtown. I think the Mission moving to the McDougall site and consolidating their services to that location will help (mentioned earlier in the thread). I think the lingering thing (and the most difficult one to fix) will be the stigma that people have about downtown. That's something that will take a while, but I'm optimistic that people's opinions will change as all these improvements and people moving in take place. I know my parents' used to not like downtown Detroit, but after taking them down there a few times they have changed their minds about it. I think with the positive momentum downtown Windsor has seen, we'll get there eventually. Sometimes I feel like one of the few people who has a positive outlook on downtown Windsor

[north 42]

Originally Posted by AmateurPlanner

I didn't know there was a general Windsor discussion thread! Glad to find it I posted this in the development thread, but think it might be valid here as well. There's a new grocery store opening up in the Security Building downtown. This is a great addition, especially with all the new residential developments happening downtown.

Link to article: https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...t-for-downtown

I think we're at an inflection point with downtown. I think the Mission moving to the McDougall site and consolidating their services to that location will help (mentioned earlier in the thread). I think the lingering thing (and the most difficult one to fix) will be the stigma that people have about downtown. That's something that will take a while, but I'm optimistic that people's opinions will change as all these improvements and people moving in take place. I know my parents' used to not like downtown Detroit, but after taking them down there a few times they have changed their minds about it. I think with the positive momentum downtown Windsor has seen, we'll get there eventually. Sometimes I feel like one of the few people who has a positive outlook on downtown Windsor

Great news! I’ve been hoping for a boutique grocery store DT for a while, I hope it gets lots of business once it opens.

I know how you feel about having a positive outlook for DT, so many people hate the core anymore, but I have faith that it will finally prosper and become a source of pride for the city.

Windsor sure has its share of negative, Debbie Downer type of people! Hopefully with more in migration, that will change.

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by north 42

Great news! I’ve been hoping for a boutique grocery store DT for a while, I hope it gets lots of business once it opens.

I know how you feel about having a positive outlook for DT, so many people hate the core anymore, but I have faith that it will finally prosper and become a source of pride for the city.

Windsor sure has its share of negative, Debbie Downer type of people! Hopefully with more in migration, that will change.

Agreed! I know there was quite a bit of a split opinion on a Reddit thread about it, but from what I've seen from other cities, if you have a grocery store within walking distance, most people will choose to walk to that one out of sheer convenience.

I'm with you on that. From what I read, people have said to give up on downtown, and at the same time say that our downtown is dead and we should improve it, which in my eyes is so contradictory! A vibrant downtown is (in my opinion) a key component to a successful city. The first step is getting people to live downtown, which so far is looking really good with all of the residential developments. The next is providing essential services within walking/biking distance to the residents. A grocery store is a great next first step. And don't get me started on improving public transit, I could talk about that for a long time , although the new master plan looks solid to me. I share your belief that one day DT will become a source of pride

I definitely agree with that too! I'm of the mindset of trying to take the optimistic approach and really trying to advocate for the city. I try to change people's perspectives that they may already have about the city. I guess I'm just a sucker for an underdog One glimmer of hope that I see (which ties into your point of in-migration) is that people who have moved to the city seem to enjoy it once they are here.

On a side note: I'm really glad I found this general Windsor thread. I've taken a look at the Windsor Star comments and Windsorite comments and I usually end up getting very frustrated Happy to find people who see the same potential in the city that I do

[north 42]

Has anyone seen any plans for the development going in on Wyandotte st. in Walkerville across from Vito’s Pizza? Vito Maggio owns the property and I assume he will be the one developing it.

The sign says commercial and residential, but not how big it will be or any renderings. Hopefully it will fit in with the neighbourhood and be at least 4 floors or more, it’s such a prominent spot, it should reflect that.

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by north 42

Has anyone seen any plans for the development going in on Wyandotte st. in Walkerville across from Vito’s Pizza? Vito Maggio owns the property and I assume he will be the one developing it.

The sign says commercial and residential, but not how big it will be or any renderings. Hopefully it will fit in with the neighbourhood and be at least 4 floors or more, it’s such a prominent spot, it should reflect that.

No, I haven't seen or heard anything unfortunately but I will keep my eyes and ears open! Have they started development already? If so, that would be great.

I agree with you as well, hoping for a vertical structure maybe between 4-7 stories to put right in the heart of Walkerville. I'm sure once it's complete he won't have an issue getting tenants/buyers with the demand, especially in the Walkerville area

[north 42]

Originally Posted by AmateurPlanner

No, I haven't seen or heard anything unfortunately but I will keep my eyes and ears open! Have they started development already? If so, that would be great.

I agree with you as well, hoping for a vertical structure maybe between 4-7 stories to put right in the heart of Walkerville. I'm sure once it's complete he won't have an issue getting tenants/buyers with the demand, especially in the Walkerville area

No, not yet, but the signage is new, so hopefully they’ll put out some renderings and get it started, since Walkerville is so hot right now.

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by north 42

No, not yet, but the signage is new, so hopefully they’ll put out some renderings and get it started, since Walkerville is so hot right now.

That would be great. I wonder if as demand continues to increase, some of the parking lots in and near the area will be converted to buildings as well? I see it trending that way, but time will tell I suppose

[north 42]

Looks like Windsor Style Pizza is now available in Toronto, as former Windsorites open up a new Windsor style pizzeria. So far they have had very good reception, mainly from expat Windsorites, but also from curious Torontonians.

https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...ens-in-toronto

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by north 42

Looks like Windsor Style Pizza is now available in Toronto, as former Windsorites open up a new Windsor style pizzeria. So far they have had very good reception, mainly from expat Windsorites, but also from curious Torontonians.

https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...ens-in-toronto

Haha I saw that! I believe there is also one out in Calgary as well. A buddy of mine who moved out there found it. Although not sure on the reviews for this one https://www.windsorpizzaco.com/

[north 42]

Originally Posted by AmateurPlanner

Haha I saw that! I believe there is also one out in Calgary as well. A buddy of mine who moved out there found it. Although not sure on the reviews for this one https://www.windsorpizzaco.com/

That’s cool! I love that both places have the Ambassador Bridge on their logo.

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by north 42

That’s cool! I love that both places have the Ambassador Bridge on their logo.

Yeah that's a cool nod to the city. I think the Chelsea downtown has started selling their pizzas to grocery stores as well, although they are in the frozen section https://thechelseapizzacompany.com/

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by north 42

Looks like Windsor Style Pizza is now available in Toronto, as former Windsorites open up a new Windsor style pizzeria. So far they have had very good reception, mainly from expat Windsorites, but also from curious Torontonians.

https://windsorstar.com/news/local-n...ens-in-toronto

My grandparents used to order from a place on Wyandotte just west of Lauzon, called Roma's. I always thought the shredded peperoni was just their thing, not "Windsor style". Interesting!

We sometimes pick up a couple of pies to go if travelling to the city. It is good pizza.

[north 42]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

My grandparents used to order from a place on Wyandotte just west of Lauzon, called Roma's. I always thought the shredded peperoni was just their thing, not "Windsor style". Interesting!

We sometimes pick up a couple of pies to go if travelling to the city. It is good pizza.

Yep, always shredded pepperoni for Windsor style pizza. Funny, I never even realized that there was a “Windsor style pizza” until about 15 or so tears ago. Never heard that term then, but now realize almost all local pizzerias use a very similar recipe.

[north 42]

Home prices surging in hot local real estate market.

Average home prices in January up 35% from last year to $510,716.

https://windsorstar.com/news/home-pr...-estate-market

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by north 42

Home prices surging in hot local real estate market.

Average home prices in January up 35% from last year to $510,716.

https://windsorstar.com/news/home-pr...-estate-market

That's a crazy year-over-year increase! It just keeps going up

[ericmacm]

These levels of price increases are not even remotely sustainable for Windsor, let alone the rest of Ontario. As a mid-20 something just now entering the professional workforce, seeing the average housing price in Windsor rising by more than my annual income every year is incredibly discouraging. Between the bidding wars and lack of supply driving these prices up, it makes me wonder if I will ever be able to own a home here without being over-leveraged with debt.

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by ericmacm

These levels of price increases are not even remotely sustainable for Windsor, let alone the rest of Ontario. As a mid-20 something just now entering the professional workforce, seeing the average housing price in Windsor rising by more than my annual income every year is incredibly discouraging. Between the bidding wars and lack of supply driving these prices up, it makes me wonder if I will ever be able to own a home here without being over-leveraged with debt.

Yeah I agree with that. I'm in the same age range myself and have been casually looking for houses in the area and it's hard to find something within the city proper for a reasonable price, and the ones that seem reasonable are probably the bait for the bidding wars . I think the lack of supply has been a huge driver of the bidding wars. We haven't been continuously building more housing like other cities since the demand wasn't there, but now the huge surge is really straining the supply, especially with multiple news sources pointing to Windsor and London as the cheapest cities in Ontario and everyone jumping in. It's good we have some projects in the works to increase the supply, but it looks like until those are complete and others start up, it's going to be rough

[ericmacm]

Originally Posted by AmateurPlanner

Yeah I agree with that. I'm in the same age range myself and have been casually looking for houses in the area and it's hard to find something within the city proper for a reasonable price, and the ones that seem reasonable are probably the bait for the bidding wars . I think the lack of supply has been a huge driver of the bidding wars. We haven't been continuously building more housing like other cities since the demand wasn't there, but now the huge surge is really straining the supply, especially with multiple news sources pointing to Windsor and London as the cheapest cities in Ontario and everyone jumping in. It's good we have some projects in the works to increase the supply, but it looks like until those are complete and others start up, it's going to be rough

It is absolutely a supply issue that is causing this. There is not enough new supply of homes coming online fast enough to absorb the Toronto retiree and investor demand. There are only 6 new build home developments active/in sales in the Windsor area, compared to 41 in London, according to BuzzBuzzHome. All of the newer proposed developments are unfortunately going to take long enough to get to market that they won't help cool down prices. I would not be surprised if this makes the average home sale price in Windsor more expensive than London in a year or two if this madness continues.

It's really funny because the initial reason why I came to Windsor to study back in 2015 was because I wanted to get away from the exploding cost of living in the GTA. Now that I'm finally starting my life and making enough to purchase a home in the near future, there is a very real possibility of being priced out of one of Ontario's cheapest cities. At this point, I'm still committed to Southwestern Ontario for a few years, but this craziness is making me seriously consider leaving the province.

[AmateurPlanner]

Originally Posted by ericmacm

It is absolutely a supply issue that is causing this. There is not enough new supply of homes coming online fast enough to absorb the Toronto retiree and investor demand. There are only 6 new build home developments active/in sales in the Windsor area, compared to 41 in London, according to BuzzBuzzHome. All of the newer proposed developments are unfortunately going to take long enough to get to market that they won't help cool down prices. I would not be surprised if this makes the average home sale price in Windsor more expensive than London in a year or two if this madness continues.

It's really funny because the initial reason why I came to Windsor to study back in 2015 was because I wanted to get away from the exploding cost of living in the GTA. Now that I'm finally starting my life and making enough to purchase a home in the near future, there is a very real possibility of being priced out of one of Ontario's cheapest cities. At this point, I'm still committed to Southwestern Ontario for a few years, but this craziness is making me seriously consider leaving the province.

Yeah that's true, it will still be a while before some of these developments complete. From what I've read, it looks like Eastern Canada is also seeing big home price increases in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with folks from the GTA looking east now too. You're definitely not alone, I actually just saw this article this morning talking about how the market is pricing out Windsorites https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/winds...929349?cmp=rss

It really is disheartening to see that these prices are still the "most affordable" for Ontario metros