WINDSOR | Construction - News and Development

[westerntragedy]

Portofino's Crane - Struck by lightning? From today's Windsor Star:

Storms Knock Out Power

... [not gonna include all of it but just the part about the crane]. About 7:20 p.m. firefighters were called to the Portofino condo construction site on Riverside Drive West to investigate a report that a crane had been struck. No damage was reported.

And as far as Portofino is progessing, I think it's at what, the 12th or 13th floor now? Getting there!

And this is the most recent photo I have, from a couple weeks ago (11th floor there I think):

[Blitz]

Nice progress, hope those billboards will be removed.

[upinottawa]

^ I agree. Those billboards have to go.

With Riverside Drive being Windsor's premier road, there should be no room for such tacky ads -- Portofino or no Portofino. I think all billboards on the Drive should be removed.

[Blitz]

^ Haha, imagine buying one of those $500,000 suites only to find out you're looking right at a billboard.

The whole length of Riverside Drive is undergoing a planning study right now, I'm sure one of the recommendations will be to dispose of all billboards.

[JBinCalgary]

when i was there last week, i was amazed at all the lots for sale in amherst? for 220 K you can get a good chunk of land on the detroit river

[upinottawa]

JB, thinking about retiring in Amherstburg?

What was the reason for your visit?

[Border City Boy]

If I'm not mistaken the sign by-law has something about preventing new billboards on Riverside Dr. as a senic highway.

Existing ones were grandfathered in.

I only remeber this, because as part of the heritage comittee, some building owner wanted to strap giant advertisments on the side of either the old Riverside Brewery Buidling or the smaller on just east of it (I can't remember), on the east side out by Sandpoint Beach. We recived notice as both buildings are on the heritage property inventory. Needless to say it never came up for debate, as the new sign bylaw that was being implemented at the time put a quick end to that plan.

[Blitz]

Maybe one day they can be renovated into something useful but with each passing year, they look worse and worse.

[arnold]

totally off the current topic, but did anyone here read about possibility of the rolling stones doing a show in windsor this summer/fall? i read it on the CBC.ca site.

that would be pretty big news...

[Freud]

That was on the Windsor Star too.

The thing started with the Saskatoon Leader-Post who said that they would have 3 shows in Canada, including Windsor.

[upinottawa]

Rolling into Regina?
Stones' concert rumoured for Thanksgiving weekend

Gerry Krochak, The Leader-Post
Published: Saturday, June 10, 2006

Naw ... it can't be. Can it? Can the persistent rumours really be true?

Could this really be a Thanksgiving weekend filled with the satisfaction of the Queen City hosting the world's greatest rock and roll band, the Rolling Stones? Yes ... it can.

We're all aware of conventional wisdom and cliches which insist that if it's too good to be true it probably is. Forget that notion for the time that it takes you to read this column and dream the biggest rock and roll dream Regina has ever known.

It seems almost a certainty that The Rolling Stones will give this province the concert of a lifetime at Taylor Field on either Oct. 7 or 8. Nothing is written in stone(s), but this show, you can't imagine, how close it is to happening.

Nothing is confirmed, but organizers from Regina and officials from the band are working very hard to make this happen, one of our well-placed sources, who requested anonymity, said Friday. The official announcement will come around mid July -- if the show proceeds, the source added.

One of the biggest earlier hurdles to a show in Regina, a head injury sustained by guitarist Keith Richards while vacationing in Fiji on April 27, has now been cleared. Last week, Richards declared himself good to go. "Feeling great, happy to be home and looking forward to getting back on the road with the Rolling Stones next month," he was reported as saying on several Web sites.

Further indication that all is well with the legendary axeman are rescheduled 'Stones dates appearing on Pollstar.com which indicate that the tour will commence July 10 in Nuremberg, with additional dates throughout Germany as well as the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Spain and the UK.

Multiple sources indicate the band will then come to Canada, for a three or four-show tour. The other Canadian cities that would host the outdoor stadium version of the group's Bigger Bang Tour are Halifax, Windsor and Vancouver, in effect covering the west, east and, of course, the middle, of this great country. News of the Halifax show has also apparently leaked out.

If the Regina date seems far-fetched, consider the success of the group's appearance last Sept. 3 in Moncton, N.B. The show drew 90,000 people and netted the act somewhere in the vicinity of seven million clams.

Although the band hardly needs the dough, it's never shied away from playing ... well, anywhere, really. The way it sits right now, Saskatchewan is the only prairie province that has never hosted a Rolling Stones show. Clearly, it's our turn.

The massive stadium production is the group's most ambitious to date, requiring roughly 80 tractor trailers to transport. Considering the size of the stage and the seating capacity of Taylor Field (including the field), the stadium which will go from hosting football greats to rock and roll legends, will probably be bursting at the seams with a crowd of anywhere from 40,000-45,000, although Taylor Field's capability to stage such an event remains a detail that has yet to be worked out.

Tickets are not yet on sale, and I can't stress this enough, so don't phone the usual places, because they have no information or ducuts to sell -- at least not yet. But if and when tickets go on sale in July, folks in Saskatchewan will also have to compete with fans from Manitoba, Alberta, Montana and North Dakota for tickets that are sure to be snatched up immediately.

If time is finally on our side, this concert just might be the single greatest event in the city's 104-year history. And that's no Thanksgiving turkey.

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2006

[y2k_pony]

I wonder where they will perform?? I hope that it will be on the riverfront. That would make for a great concert!!

[upinottawa]

The Moncton concert attracted 90,000, there is little reason to suspect that the Windsor concert will not attract a minimum of 50,000 (even though Windsor is significantly larger than Moncton, the Stones did play at the Superbowl last winter in Detroit and have played numerous times in Metro Detroit making this less of an opportunity of a life time for most Windsorites than it would be for our New Brunswick friends).

50,000+ would be a big crowd for a waterfront concert, would it not? Could the Casino Pavillion and areas west handle between 50,000 and 90,000 people (and make for a good concert)?

[Border City Boy]

Blitz the problem with those two Riverside Dr. buildings are the gravel docks in the rear. I heard of a redevolpoment proposal for the Riverside Brewery building as a loft conversion about 5 years ago, however, the land to the rear with the water access is is either in a long term lease or owned by someone other than the building owner.

Either way, that is why nothing has or will be done with either building anytime soon.

[Blitz]

Yeah, I noticed a ship unloading gravel behind the brewery. That building would make for a great loft conversion, the location is excellent.

I also noticed when i drove into town that the city population signs have been updated (strange considering we don't know the census results yet). Anyhow, we're up to 218,000 now.

[upinottawa]

Okay so it looks like a Cleary deal has finally been reached. About 700 St. Clair students should be attending school downtown by September 2007. The extra 700 bodies downtown during the day should increase demand for restaurants, services and even shopping downtown.

Hopefully, St. Clair students will opt for a universial bus pass similar to what Western and Fanshawe students in London, Ontario have. This would help increase transit service from downtown to St. Clair and may convince other St. Clair students to move downtown.

Now the city needs some way to attract a downtown University of Windsor campus.

Here is today's article from the Windsor Star:



Cleary deal OK'd:
College's creative arts students to move downtown

Roseann Danese, Windsor Star
Published: Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Mayor Eddie Francis and St. Clair College president John Strasser used the quintessential Canadian hangout -- a Tim Hortons coffee shop -- as the setting to ink a tentative deal that will bring 700 aspiring chefs and artists downtown for classes at the Cleary International Centre.

A Sunday evening meeting over coffee at the Tim's on Eugenie and Ouellette resulted in an agreement that Francis described as good for everyone -- the city, the college, students and current Cleary employees.

"This is a significant step forward," Francis said Monday after a majority of city councillors approved the in-camera deal that will result in the Cleary being handed over to the college for its creative arts programs. Two councillors declared conflicts and another, Jo-Anne Gignac, voted against it.

The deal must still be approved by the college's board of governors tonight.

Francis said details of the agreement won't be released to the public until Wednesday or Thursday, after Cleary employees are briefed on their future.

If all goes according to Francis's and Strasser's plans, the college will take over operations in September and students from programs in culinary arts, hospitality, tourism, journalism, theatre and graphic design will begin classes in September 2007 at their new riverfront location.

"It will be the premier school of creative arts in the country," Strasser said Monday.

After two weeks of back and forth negotiations between the two leaders, Francis said he gave Strasser a final proposal.

That was Wednesday. Francis headed out of town and by the time he returned Friday, Strasser was ready to meet.

The first opportunity for a face-to-face was Sunday night.

Strasser said he went into the meeting feeling positive. And when Francis paid for his large, double-double, the college president "looked at it as a good sign."

They sat down at 8 p.m. and by 9:30 p.m., they had their deal.

After shaking on it, they talked about what it will mean for the downtown and what it will mean for the college.

"Once the details were out of the way, we talked about the vision," Francis said, including how putting a culinary arts program in the midst of the finest downtown restaurants is a bold move that sets the college apart from all others.

Francis would not reveal anything about the deal, but he emphasized the Cleary's banquet business will continue as though there was no change.

The city wanted the deal for its downtown revival as much as the college wanted it to expand and broaden its programs.

Strasser is guessing the hospitality and tourism industry will skyrocket in this region and St. Clair College students will be at the cutting edge.

"I think we have to be ready for that," Strasser said.

The tentative deal wasn't easily reached.

The tug-of-war that went on for several weeks revolved around who would own the building that's been in public hands for decades, but which has been a money-loser for the city to the tune of about $800,000 a year.

Francis said the issue of ownership has been resolved. He didn't say how, though, or whether the city would entertain a long-term lease.

The city wanted to make sure it did not lose out by turning over a building to the college that would be quickly sold off. The college, however, wanted to be sure its investment in moving downtown -- and the considerable resources it would take to do so -- wasn't lost in a short-term lease.

"There was a lot of back and forth," Francis said.

"We both were committed to it, but we both knew it had to be the right deal."

© The Windsor Star 2006

[FenderStrat]

I haven't seen any updated Casino Construction pics posted to here so I took it upon myself to get some today. The are now building above ground, so things should start to get a lot more interesting in the coming months. Anyway, here ya go:







And, as an added bonus, here is Portofino: (Its getting much taller as you can see)




Let me know what you think!!

[upinottawa]

^ You certainly can't miss Portofino....

Thanks for the photos.

[Blitz]

Thanks for the photos. They're really doing a lot of work on the riverfront parkland between Janette and Crawford.

[westerntragedy]

Originally Posted by Blitz

Thanks for the photos. Was in Windsor over the weekend, they're really doing a lot of work on the riverfront parkland between Janette and Crawford.

It really has taken shape though and most of the earth is finally flattened last I was there.. maybe they just need to add sod and that's it? Word is that the redo of the riverfront there is supposed to be completed for the Fireworks on June 28th, but I don't see that happening, it still looks like there's a lot of work to be done.