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BUILDINGS, HOMES & REAL ESTATE

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Province knocks several industry "myths" on getting new homes built

WindsorOntarioNews.com Dec 12 2024

The province is nixing “myths” over development charges and other supposed obstacles to building new homes. In a letter to Windsor city council it says many in the housing industry believe that if DCs weren’t collected prices would drop. Not so, as it says there’s “no guarantee developers would pass along significant savings to homebuyers;” property taxes instead would have to take up the slack. Another fallacy is that DCs are a big part of overall government fees. In reality fed and provincial taxes comprise a whopping 76% of fees. But “unlike DCs none of these funds are required to be invested back into growth related costs.” Another assumption is that “lengthy municipal approvals” drag housing starts. But, says Queen’ Park: “municipalities have been taking steps to tighten up planning approval timelines, many shaving months off the process.” Nevertheless, construction is held up on 330,000 homes “that already have municipal planning approvals in place.” Developers and others may also think cities have “ample reserves” to pay for growth. In fact, virtually all “are committed to specific projects.” These are also “heavily regulated by the province, which require municipalities to use” them for specific purposes, “including keeping assets in a state of good repair and investing in growth infrastructure.” Some also think local housing targets “provide clear direction” and speed development. But although they can provide a “useful framework” they don’t “always guarantee” more houses. This is even true in the targets the province has recently set for 50 municipalities. “Targets were based on outdated growth projections and don’t accurately reflect available development land, existing site servicing capacity, updated population growth projections, economic headwinds and developer decisions.”

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Developers bringing applications for four higher density buildings city wide

WindsorOntarioNews.com Nov 26 2024

Windsor is seeing more applications for higher density residential buildings with four proposals going before city hall’s development committee in early December. 280 units would be created altogether. One is by Farhi Holdings in an already burgeoning high rise residential community on the far east side near the WFCU Centre. This would see a six-storey mixed use building with 199 units and 1200 sq. ft. of ground floor commercial at the corner of McHugh St. and Darfield Rd. (Image above) The second is a rezoning proposal by a numbered company for a development on Esplanade Dr. in Forest Glade for a four storey 54-unit building. The third by HD Development Group is on the east side of Sixth Conc., north of Holburn St. for a three-storey building with 21 units. And the fourth is for a large vacant lot at the corner of Wyandotte St. E. and Watson Ave. for 86 units over six storeys. The proponent is Baker Investments. In each application city planning staff are recommending approval based on planning principles and the city’s official plan.

Image: City of Windsor

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Goyeau apartment building "good infill"

WindsorOntarioNews.com Nov 12 2024

Noting it’s a “good infill project on a long-time vacant property” the city has approved a rezoning request for a six storey (75 ft.) 54-unit apartment building in a prominent downtown location. The proposal by Alta Nota Construction encompasses two current parking lots immediately across Goyeau Street from the Bell Canada building, also home to CTV and the adjoining Windsor Regional Hospital renal dialysis unit. There would also be 84 parking spaces, more than the 67 the city requires. The development encompasses two current parking lots bordering both Goyeau Street and Windsor Ave. immediately east. The rezoning changes land use in part from commercial to residential. The current neighbourhood is mixed-use with “low to medium profile residential uses, commercial and institutional uses (a hospital, school and religious institutions) as well as public parks,” a city report says. An open house was held a year ago with no one attending. Says the report, “The proposed development represents an incremental increase in density and provides an opportunity for residential intensification, while also supporting a complementary form of housing located near various transportation options and institutional uses.” While there is no street access now from Windsor Ave. new access would be permitted. During an earlier Development Committee meeting councillors had questions about future parking, especially for users of the hospital. Developer consultant Jackie Lassaline said the current parking lot is “rented by the hospital and typically empty but is not associated with the hospital.” A public alley between the two lots will continue to exist with the Windsor Ave. parking lot serving the new apartment building.

Image: Lassaline Consultants

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"Transformational" project would put the wow factor into Amherstburg

WindsorOntarioNews.com Sept. 25 2024

A wow factor presentation to transform the heart of Amherstburg could see a major residential complex, retail, a multi-use theatre and new town hall consolidated into what was General Amherst High School. Owner Valente and architectural firm Architecttura - which is similarly transforming the downtown Chatham mall (see Aug. 11 post this page) - unveiled he “idealistic urban” concept to town council this week as “transformational … a true town centre,” the firm’s Dan Soleski said. The project has several components including keeping the earliest historic façade of the school as a centerpiece (image), rebuilding the gym as a town hall and theatre which could double as a council chamber, restaurants, cafes and retail along the front of the building, and a several storey residential L-shaped tower above, the number of units still to be determined. The interior of the oldest part of the school would have to be demolished to meet HVAC and accessibility standards. The adjoining Bill Wigle Park, now hosting a baseball diamond where the town’s minor league Cardinals play, would be “reimagined” with features where the public “can really gravitate to and enjoy,” Soleski said. (The town lost other baseball diamonds when it ceded land for North Star High School, which opened last year.) There would also be some parking where the park now stands. Another feature would be a pedestrian promenade and Sandwich St. frontage to “energize” the town’s main street. The 1967 Centennial heritage murals on what was the school gyms would be kept as part of the town hall exterior facade. A public meeting will take place Oct. 5. But town council approved in principle moving its administration to the site. It has been studying its future space needs.

Image: Architecttura

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Some tips to storm proof your home

WindsorOntarioNews.com Sept. 13 2024

It may be September but we’re not out of the seasonal woods yet when it comes to storms and heavy rainfall. Reliance Home Comfort has some tips to protect your home from rain and heavy flooding, this year or any other. Michael Lopes, the company’s operations manager, says the majority of these can be done without calling a professional.

Before the Heavy rainfall: • Put on gloves and bring important belongings from the basement to the main floor or second floor. Valuables and family keepsakes should be stored off the floor to avoid any potential damage. • Prepare an emergency kit that contains the essentials from flashlight, to hand sanitizer, to medications; make sure the kit is fully waterproof. • Furnace units and outdoor gas valves should be turned off and be sure to unplug electrical appliances. • Make sure any pets have proper identification tags and that any pet food and medicine are well stocked in waterproof containers. • Ensure you take inventory. Take photos or videos of your household belongings and appliances. In the event of flood damage, you'll have documentation that'll help speed up the insurance claims process. During the Heavy Rainfall: • If your basement is flooded and you need to get down there, use a stick to check that there is nothing in front of you. • Ensure you are aware of the local authorities monitoring the situation, and if advised to do so, immediately evacuate the premises and seek higher ground. • Do not attempt to shut off electrical equipment or appliances if water is present. • Do not attempt to access the basement while there is standing water around your furnace and water heater – wait until the water has receded and it is safe to assess. After the Heavy Rainfall: • Mud left from the floodwater can contain sewage and chemicals so clean and disinfect everything that got soiled. Make sure you are properly dressed and wear gloves. • Do not use waterlogged appliances or electrical outlets until they've been checked by your utility company. Replace any damaged parts as soon as possible. • Once the standing water has been cleared, assess whether the water reached your furnace and/or water heater. • If water reached your appliances, contact a qualified professional to have the equipment inspected before using. • Replace filters inside furnaces, if they have been flooded • Inspect your sump pump for damage or debris that might clog the pump or prevent it from properly draining the groundwater around your home.

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Downtown Chatham mall to go retro

WindsorOntarioNews.com August 11 2024

Downtown Chatham’s mall is undergoing a major makeover by the same people who began revitalizing the city centre over the past decade. That would be people like Rob Myers, owner of RM Classic Cars and developer of the very successful Retro Suites hotel. The hotel converted a city block across from the mall into a boutique hotel, refurbishing the traditional small town Ontario buildings in its wake. Myers is also the businessman redeveloping Windsor’s downtown Paul Martin former federal building into a similar concept. Others helming the redevelopment are local movers and shakers like Don Tetrault of the Tatro Group of Companies and Ron Nydam of J.P. Holdings and J.P. Contractors, the latter having done the lion’s share of work on the Retro Suites, which opened in 2016. Plans are to rejig the 1980s era mall into a more physically diverse and hospitable place, with warmer finishes and colours replacing the more hard edged look of 40 years ago. As well, developers are planning apartments attached to the building. Windsor’s ADA Architects is doing the design. Perhaps most interesting is that the mall’s exterior will be entirely redone to mimic traditional Ontario main street storefronts. “We want to recreate some of the lost history by creating older looking facades – different heights, projections, materials, just to recreate what that area at one time might have looked like,” Myers told Daily Commercial News (WON publisher Ron Stang is a writer for DCN). Also interesting is that the municipality of Chatham-Kent has all but given final approval to move its offices into the building. The city library and art gallery would also move into the former Sears department store site. The mall is being rebranded by its street address 100 King.

Image: ADA Architects

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One time futuristic Dearborn hotel linked to colourful Canadian figure

WindsorOntarioNews.com July 16 2024

It was much heralded when it opened in the 1970s with a monorail connecting it to a shopping mall. But the futuristic and since renamed Dearborn Hyatt hotel in Dearborn, adjacent to Fairlane Town Center, has long been dormant. Its recent tangled history has a strong Canadian connection. The Hyatt brand was yanked from the building in 2012 by the parent company because of deteriorating physical conditions. It then operated as the Edward Hotel & Convention Center. Edward Gong, a Chinese national living in Canada, bought the property in 2016. Gong is a colorful character who last year ran for mayor of Toronto. He paid $20 million for the building. The following year he was arrested in Canada for alleged fraud and money-laundering, which he denied. He tried to reopen the hotel and the property was seized by US Marshals. His lawyer Joel Etienne in 2022 told the Detroit Free Press: “Before the property was restrained, Mr. Gong, a Canadian citizen, had great ambitions for his Dearborn hotel and was valiantly working towards repositioning the property to become the community jewel that it once had been. The charges were withdrawn against Mr. Gong personally, by the Ontario courts in early 2021. Mr. Gong resides in Canada as a free and innocent man.” Added Etienne, “Mr. Gong has never been notified or told what happened with the monies stemming from the proceeds of the seized U.S. properties. We did hear that there was an arrangement between Ontario and communist Chinese authorities to share the monies.” The Toronto Star reported in April that while Gong’s company ultimately was fined about $1 million and ordered to forfeit $15 million to Canada Revenue Agency all criminal charges were withdrawn, and Gong was never convicted of any offense. Meanwhile the building, now shuttered more than five years, went to a sheriff’s sale last month after current owners New York-based Rhodium Capital Advisors defaulted on the property’s 2021 mortgage. Under state law, the owners have up to six months, or until Dec. 20, to buy back and redeem the property. After it bought the building for $18.25 million Rhodium announced plans to convert it into upscale apartments.

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17-unit an example of "missing middle"

WindsorOntarioNews.com June 30 2024

A proposed multiunit residential building for southeast Windsor has been called “an example of a missing middle development.” This is defined as being between traditional single-family homes and large scale apartment blocks or towers. The planned development by Olivia Construction Homes Inc. (Ashraf Botros) would see a three storey, 17 unit multiple dwelling with 21 space rear parking. It’s at the corner of Turner Rd. and Moxlay Ave. in the Devonshire East neighbourhood, one blook west of Walker Rd. and a few blocks north of Division Rd. The current lot is vacant as a previous residence was torn down in 1990. The neighbourhood is marked by low rise residential and commercial businesses a block east on Walker. The “infill” complex will also take advantage of existing municipal services, “further diversifying the range and mix of residential types available in the Devonshire neighbourhood" and “avoiding unnecessary land consumption,” according to a planning report. It also is within 400 metres of two bus routes, that figure being the “acceptable walking distance to a transit stop.” No traffic issues were reported. There were no objections and one person showed up to a public meeting. Meanwhile, according to the Toronto Star, the provincial and federal governments are encouraging building more multi-unit residential buildings, including those in the “missing middle.” The general way of building "has been tall or small, and people aren’t building that missing middle typology,” according to Richard Joy, executive director of the Urban Land Institute Toronto. “California has been able to get massive amounts of that type of housing supply in areas that have parks and amenities. There is absolutely enormous potential to see redevelopment of our neighbourhoods.” Land use polices and NIMBYism (people not wanting things in their neighbourhood) has caused barriers, but a lot of those issues have been recently removed, says Joy. That’s obviously not the case with this Windsor development.

Photo: Google Street View

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Caboto Club planned six storey would create 54 units of affordable housing

WindsorOntarioNew.com June 13 2024

Despite neighborhood traffic concerns a city committee is recommending a rezoning change to accommodate a six storey, 54 unit building at the southwest corner of Tecumseh Rd. W. and Marentette St. bordering the existing Caboto Club parking lot. The proposal is being brought by the Caboto Club and would require the demolition of the General Paint building on Tecumseh Rd. E. and the removal of five rows or 70 parking spaces from the Club’s own parking lot. A traffic impact study is required for site plan approval. The building is being designed by Windsor’s Sfera Architectural Associates. The site would have 68 parking spaces. The rental complex will feature one- and two-bedroom apartments with private balconies. Current zoning allows for four stories and this would be increased to six. A public consultation was held last October. One Marentette St. resident, David Girard, told last month’s planning committee the building should stay at four storeys as it “better suits” the lower profile mixed use area including the Tecumseh commercial strip. He also questioned the impact on traffic generally and specifically vehicles entering and exiting on to Marentette, a side street. “This solution creates a large traffic increase in the surrounding neighbourhood,” the meeting’s minutes reported. Once built the complex would be managed by the Caboto Club under a legally separate corporation “with the intent of creating affordable rental units.” Councillor Kieran McKenzie also asked if Caboto Club patrons would use the new Marentette exit. But private consultant Tracey Pillon-Abbs said the architect “designed the concept plan to deter this traffic behaviour.”

Image: City of Windsor

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Big plans for former Green Shield bldg.

WindsorOntarioNews.com May 29 2023

A developer seeks to convert the one-time home of Green Shield Canada to a mixed use commercial but mainly residential building. The modern looking three storey building at the southeast corner of Giles Blvd. E and McDougall St. was vacated when Green Shield, a national insurance company born in Windsor, moved offices to the east end on Anchor Dr. besides the EC Row Expressway. Windsor-based A.E. Baird proposes to convert the site to one commercial unit and 46 apartments, revamping the exterior, and providing almost 60 parking spaces across the street in what’s now a vacant lot. While lying “outside” the downtown BIA the properties are still “within the core … referred as ‘downtown,’ says a planning report. Surrounding land contains a mix of residential, offices, retail, warehouse and industrial and auto mechanic garages. Warehouse industrial uses are to the south and the land use "transition" to commercial and residential east and north of Giles Boulevard. A public open house was held in January and three people attended and had no objections. City staff recommend approval of a zoning change to accommodate the plan, which goes before the city’s development committee next week. Green Shield is a storied Windsor company. Founded in 1957 by pharmacist Bill Wilkinson and four other pharmacists, the company created Canada’s first pre-paid drug plan. Its website says that “before establishing Green Shield (Wilkinson) witnessed a mother sacrifice her health by forgoing her own medicine to ensure she could afford a prescription for her sick daughter.” The non—profit provides drug, dental, extended health care, vision, hospital and travel benefits for groups and individuals. The company relocated more than 10 years ago leaving the contemporary building a hollow shell in the “transition” district.

Photo: Google Street View

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Restoring bay windows costs big bucks

WindsorOntarioNews.com May 6 2024

The historic Strathcona Building at the corner of Devonshire Rd. and Wyandotte St. E., which got a major makeover, should also be getting almost $100,000 assistance from the city. Mainly it’s to pay for the painstaking work of refurbishing the building’s iconic bay windows. The half block building, once home to Hiram Walker facilities and numerous commercial and small manufacturing tenants since, was wholly redeveloped by the Rosati Group including new homes for two of the city’s better-known restaurants – The Twisted Apron and The Grand Cantina. Constructed in 1907 and designed by renowned Detroit architect Albert Kahn, the owner is applying for heritage status, after which funding would be provided. “The Strathcona Building is an important commercial building from the times of the former Town of Walkerville,” city staff say in a report to the heritage committee. Rosati Group has purchased a number of buildings in Old Walkerville, the city’s foremost gentrified district and soon to be home to a themed Distillery Square, a nod to the area’s famed Hiram Walker distillery and its current owners. A grant of $37,000 from the Community Heritage Fund would be topped by a 30 per cent tax break for three years, amounting to just over $55,000. “Given the catalytic impact of the restoration work at the property for Walkerville’s commercial area, and the additional expense of recreating the bay windows on top of the large investments into the project, administration is comfortable with the owner’s request,” staff said. Rosati has also applied for unspecified funding under the city’s façade improvement plan. The city had encouraged Rosati to keep the bay windows but restoration “came at an increased cost.”

Photo: Rosati Group

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One time industrial ruin, Michigan Central depot to reopen June 6

WindsorOntarioNews.com April 22 2024

The long dormant but now revived Michigan Central train depot will reopen June 6. The building, for many years a rotting industrial hulk that greeted motorists crossing the Ambassador Bridge into Detroit, was purchased by Ford Motor Co. from the Maroun family that owns the bridge. Ford has poured $1 billion into renovating the 18-storey tower, designed by the same architects that designed New York’s Grand Central Terminal. But the last train to leave the station was in the late 1980s. The building is part of Ford’s new mobility innovation hub researching and designing new forms of transportation including EVs. But Ford executive chairman Bill Ford Jr. said the building will be an “open platform” for all manner of firms working in this and related fields. This included Google parent Alphabet Inc. which will teach coding. “It'll be bigger companies working in the train station hand-in-hand with these startups,” Ford told a recent Detroit Free Press Breakfast Club talk. “This is an open platform. We want everyone to come. We don't want this to be a Ford thing.” Ford announced the campus could eventually house 5000 workers, half from the car company and half from startups and affiliates. Ford is bullish on EVs despite some recent weakening of the market including Tesla’s announcement last week to cut 10 per cent of its workforce. And Ford expects to lose up to $5.5 billion from its EV division this year, delaying $12 billion more spending on EVs. “We don’t know what the (EV) adoption curve will look like," Ford said. "One thing we know for sure is they are coming. The research shows the people that have them don’t want to go back.” There is speculation some retail, as well as a hotel, could be part of the building. Roosevelt Park, the wide expanse immediately in front of the station, got a City of Detroit $6 million makeover last year. It now has public gathering and concert areas and links to the city’s new Southwest Trail and Riverwalk.

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Fourplexes can be built pretty much anywhere in Windsor - local urbanist

WindsorOntarioNews.com April 1 2024

Urbanist and local architect Dorian Moore thinks fourplexes would work very well in pretty much any Windsor neighbourhood. It’s just that the idea hasn’t been given a chance. He was commenting on the city's rejection of at least $30 million in federal housing accelerator funds to create fourplexes and consequently more density and ultimately housing. Alternatively the city proposed fourplexes on certain vacant lots and along transit routes, which the feds rejected. But Moore, a longtime observer of city housing, said fourplexes could fit in almost anywhere. It’s just that modern single family neighborhoods aren't used to them and there’s little conception of contemporary architectural styles that would make them fit in. “I think that's where some of the fear of fourplexes comes from,” he says. “A lot of the examples that are in older neighbourhoods are not that great so people are concerned about having them in their neighbourhoods.” He says Windsor planners already have compatibility guidelines. If enforced, “I think you’ll start to see examples where these fourplexes can be ‘good neighbours,'” Moore said. But one excellent example of traditional fourplexes can be found along Giles Blvd. (photo) with single family homes seamlessly flowing in the rear on cross streets. "It's all about designing something that fits into the aesthetic and the scale of the neighbourhood that you’re building it in," Moore said. These could be in "specific locations” where they’ve traditionally been built, such as along “transitional” arteries or buffering neighbourhoods, not just built “willy-nilly.”

Photo: Google Street View

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"Complicated" River Canard development now ready for homes

WindsorOntarioNews.com March 7 2024

A “very complicated” development site is now ready to sell by County Rd. 20 at River Canard. The history of the small slice of real estate nestled on the north side of the highway bridge is fascinating. Originally the area was going to be the site of a 50-something unit midsize development. That was back in 2003. The developer was Crumblin’ Muffin - that’s right, that was the name! Then it was rezoned for seven lots. For some reason that developer didn’t want to go through with the development process and the property was transferred to various people until Jonathan Seguin got hold of it. He’s a partner in PS Holdings and a former longtime local resident, now living in Alberta. His other developments are 75 Mill St. on the waterfront for a 15 storey, 250 unit building, and a 56 unit midrise at 1567 Ouellette. He has also developed numerous smaller properties in the area as well as in Montreal, where he’s lived for the past couple of years, and now in Alberta where his business partner lives and to where Seguin moved his family last month. But he still has five local projects ongoing in the Windsor area “and I’ll likely continue to invest in the area because I know it well.” Each of the River Canard lots sells for $324,900. Seguin admits people who know the area might have been perplexed by why the site hasn't been developed up to now. But the process has been long and arduous, especially dealing with various government departments. These have included ERCA and two provincial ministries, including one that controls endangered species. "You’re looking at one to three years,” he said and noted that a fox snake study, costing up to $20,000, will take “eight to 12 months” before the ministry just reviews it. “It requires someone experienced in development” to persevere and meet government requirements; someone less experienced would give up in frustration as apparently others have. Seguin said houses can be built to varying sizes but “what’s going to affect” the size is the septic drainage field. There are also water rights but since the river is environmentally protected only floating docks can be built. The water table is also three metres below ground level and land "highly impermiable." Seguin agrees the parcel has a ‘stigma” after being undeveloped all these years but says the first house will be under construction in two months. “I think the minute the house goes up on the property, I think those lots will fly,” he said. Sales are being handled by realtor Steven Jarrouge.

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Two Amherstburg midtown developments opening this year

WindsorOntarioNews.com February 2 2024

Amherstburg’s midtown is developing quickly with two major residential developments coming on stream this year. The first is St. John’s Apartments on the site of the old St. Jean Baptiste school at the corner of Brock and Richmond streets, and right beside St. John the Baptist church. The next is the St. Anthony Lofts, the former St. Anthony School but better known as the House of Shalom, bookmarking the other side. Fifteen lofts will be for sale there. The first floor of St. John’s Apartments will be available for move in April 1st, says Jones Realty property manager Mackie Jones. A well-attended open house took place last Sunday and another is coming up this Sunday. The four storey 75 unit building features high end finishes for the two bedroom, two bathroom units. A sample 1,040 sq. ft. apartment is listed at $2,365/mo. Jones said the building, being completed by Rosati Construction, features a classic gray stone exterior. “We had it match the Lofts so it complements the House of Shalom building,” she said. The market is retired people and those moving into the area because of the boom in the local economy exemplified by the EV battery plant and spinoff industries. The Lofts are more focussed on young professionals. They take advantage of the building’s old-world charm “complete with the original exposed brick and stonework and soaring windows,” according to a sales brochure. A two bedroom, two bath has just under 1200 sq. ft. The school was originally built in 1910 with an addition in 1930. An advertised unit price is $739,888. Jones said her Amherstburg based firm is planning another condo building behind the Lofts, construction expected to start before the end of the year.

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Iconic Detroit hospital and infamous Detroit ruin set for transformations

WindsorOntarioNews.com January 19 2024

Windsorites may be familiar with two iconic and historic Detroit buildings as they navigate their way around the Motor City. Both have been there for a century, in various states of use or disrepair, and are undergoing major transformations. The first is Henry Ford Hospital. The three block long red brick stately hospital building -

where multitudes of Canadian nurses have worked – will be “reimagined” in a new hospital complex that will start being built this spring. A new 20-storey patient tower and base containing ER and OR facilities (photo) will be built immediately across West Grand Blvd. This will front a medical research campus incorporating support buildings, a new energy hub, parking structure and green space to create a “campus like” feel, said Henry Ford vice president Jerry Darby. This will continue east on the other side of the Lodge Freeway where the hospital will expand joint operations with Michigan State University and the Detroit Pistons, including a new seven story research facility and a commercial and residential complex spearheaded by the Pistons. The hospital and NBA team already operate the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center. “They are certainly integrated into the community and part of what they’re doing is to continue that goal,” Darby said of the Pistons. As for the old hospital, opened in 1915, it will continue to play a major role but as an ambulatory and in-patient center, as opposed to acute. Meanwhile, at the of I-75 and I-94 interchange, the hulking ruin of the old Fisher Body plant, decades dormant, will soon be transformed into Fisher 21 Lofts, a reimagined residential and retail building. Proposed uses include a ground-level market and food hall, café, second-floor co-working space, internal courtyard and atrium, fitness center and rooftop terrace. The building was originally opened in 1919.

Photos: Henry Ford Health, City of Detroit

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Solcz withdraws app to convert building

WindsorOntarioNews.com January 5 2024

The applicant for a high-profile office building at 1500 Ouellette Ave. is requesting withdrawal of an application to convert the corner address to a residential and condo complex. The application originally was made to the city’s development committee last summer. No reasons are given for the withdrawal. The four-storey building at the corner of Ouellette Ave. and Shepherd St. has housed lawyer offices, including that of former Windsor Mayor Michael Hurst. The applicant, the Ryan Michael Solcz Prof. Corp. (Solcz Law is also located in the building) wanted to convert the early 1990s structure to 10 condos on the top two floors, two commercial units on floors below – same as current layout - along with maintaining more than 50 surface and underground parking spaces. The owner is an Ontario numbered company in care of Michael Cervi. City planning staff were recommending the change subject to a laundry list of conditions including parking, accessibility, and signage. The police had identified several “safety and security deficiencies” including more secure garage doors, shortening the time doors stay open to prevent “unauthorized individuals” gaining access and securing the east side along Dufferin Place which “exhibits signs of trespassing and loitering.” A parking sign was “covered in graffiti” indicating “disorder that reduces feelings of safety.” Handicapped accessibility also needed to be upgraded with at least two barrier-free entrances including power doors and ramps.

Photo: Google Street View

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MacLeod joins Realty ONE Group and brings brokerage into downtown

WindsorOntarioNews.com Dec 8 2023

The chair of the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association has a new real estate brokerage and, naturally enough, moved his office into downtown Windsor. “We are huge downtown supporters, and we want to be part of the revitalization of our downtown core,” Chris MacLeod says. “We really believe that as a business we can make a difference in our community beyond our business operations by where we choose to locate our office.” MacLeod and partner Rob Mathers in fact are part of the group that redeveloped the former Don Cherry’s property at 531 Pelissier St. into one of the core’s first contemporary luxury apartment buildings, the 24-unit The Hive. And that’s where the realtors have established their new office after joining the international Realty ONE Group. MacLeod has been selling real estate since 2009, first with RE/MAX before opening a boutique brokerage with Mathers in 2017 called Distinctive Homes & Real Estate Ltd. in Tecumseh. They grew the business from two to 10 agents and then started to look to the future. Choosing Realty ONE Group fit to a T. “We recognized that if we wanted to grow we could either spend ten million dollars and 10 years to develop all the tools, technology, branding and training that agents need or we could look for a partner who brought this to the table,” MacLeod said. Essentially Realty ONE Group aligned with their values such as “community involvement and charity, a commission structure that recognizes the value of every team member, a belief that everyone matters, and everyone has a voice.” Indeed, a look at Realty ONE Group’s website finds the celebration of an upbeat, familial, indeed “cool” culture with an outlook to community and giving back. For example, “We value being together and having fun,” “We value our communities and vow to make an impact across the globe.” All within a professional growth culture using latest technology, marketing and proprietary education.

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Local vacay rental company specializes in higher end north shore properties

WindsorOntarioNews.com Nov 19 2023

Essex County-based Dream BNB Hospitality is a high-end vacation home property management company that specializes in renting "boutique" or higher end homes, largely along the Lake Erie shore. The company, owned by Paul Medeiros and Rui Arruda, has about 50 properties mainly in the Kingsville, Colchester and Leamington areas as well in Muskoka. They have 30 properties along Pt. Pelee Drive alone. Medeiros says the company sells vacation “experiences” – properties that are “not just another house on the market.” Most of the homes are owned by others who don’t live in them but have invested for short term rental properties. “Most of our clients are just investors so they are completely hands off so most of our homes are as if they were our own,” Medeiros says. Medeiros and Arruda’s company takes care of everything, from listings, photos and social media promotion to cleaning and property maintenance. They also sell “experiences” not connected to housing like canoeing, water crafts and winery tours. But based on their inventory “in Essex County we have more rooms for rent than any hotel,” Medeiros says. They also are connected to numerous platforms like Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonboy, VRBO and the Expedia Partner group. “So, we’re probably your largest partnered revenue channel management company in the area, maybe even southwestern Ontario,” Medeiros says. For the right property the return on investment can be lucrative. Medeiros said one client made $30,000 per month over the summer. This was for a Ruthven property with pool, hot tub with a Lake Erie view. Anyone can contact the company if they want to list their house and the firm will do a property evaluation before deciding if it meets listing criteria. Medeiros says most people renting the homes are from the GTA and Michigan and during birding season “we get people from all over the world.”

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Former tourist centre could be home to four storey residential complex

WindsorOntarioNews.com Nov 3 2023

The former Ontario tourist bureau on Huron Church Rd., now a local taxi company depot, could see an additional use as a combined residential and commercial plaza. Joe Passa Associates, a long time Windsor architectural firm whose projects include The Great Canadian Flag on the riverfront, Windsor Tunnel Duty Free Shop and the Greenwood Centre business park along EC Row, is proposing a four storey 37-unit residential building, a single story building as a repair garage and 51 parking spaces, 14 spaces for commercial use and two loading spaces. The current commercial use will remain. The lot area is almost 45,000 sq. ft. The property is across the street from University of Windsor Alumni Field and Assumption College Catholic High School along with Catholic school board offices. Other residential and commercial uses are nearby. The proposal goes before the city’s development and planning committee next week. A city report says the proposal will “create a diverse neighbourhood that represents an environmentally sustainable development and that will provide housing that is in demand.” Additional residential will “create a pedestrian orientated cluster of residential, commercial and employment uses.” Besides immediate access to Huron Church Rd. and proximity it the Ambassador Bridge Transit Windsor’s route 3 has several stops within 400 metres.

Photo: Google Street View

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Meet Windsor's first "sustainable" hood

WindsorOntrarioNews.com October 18 2023

Get ready for Windsor’s first sustainable neighbhourhood. The city’s newest acquired lands in Sandwich South (actually acquired 2002) including future home of the new regional hospital and just east of Windsor airport, are earmarked to be a “net zero neighbourhood.” It’s part of the city’s so-called Community Energy Plan with a goal to reduce greenhouse emissions and per capita energy consumption by 40 per cent of 2014 levels by 2041. Net zero neighbourhoods “create as much energy in a typical year as they consume,” a City of Windsor pamphlet about the SNAP (Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Plan) says. The Sandwich South 2600 hectares (6400 acres) “represents the largest greenfield development area in the City” and with a ”blank slate there is high potential and opportunity for development of Net-Zero (or near-zero) neighbourhoods.” The city is studying the matter with hired consultants and is currently conducting an online survey on how people feel about this and what they would suggest to get to net zero. Among targets: energy and emissions, water, wastewater and stormwater management, waste management, economic development, 25 per cent active (non-motorized) transportation and “increased affordable housing units for indigenous peoples (and) mitigation of energy poverty.” The findings should also “help inform” the city’s overall official plan. The land runs east of the airport and is bordered on the north by County Rd. 42 and south by Hwy. 401. But a “core focus area” is smaller and borders Rd. 42. Katrina Richters, who heads the city’s Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change office, declined further comment as she doesn’t “want to influence the results of the public survey and our upcoming stakeholder workshop.”

Image: City of Windsor

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New ‘shared equity’ companies can help with that tough house downpayment

WindsorOntarioNews.com October 3 2023

As house prices get more expensive and younger Canadians fear they won’t be able to enter the housing market alternative financing models are starting to pop up. These go by names like co-ownership and shared-equity mortgages. Toronto-based Ourboro, for example, offers to share the cost of a downpayment. But there’s a catch. The provider would also get the same percentage of proceeds from the eventual resale value of the home. For example, if Ourboro pays 60 per cent it will get 60 per cent upon the sale’s increased sale value. As well, the homeowner, who put down 40 per cent, will now have to pay the remaining amount through a mortgage. The homebuyer would also have to pay taxes, closing costs and the regular maintenance that comes with ownership. Ourboro just makes the upfront payment and stays hands off for the remainder of the mortgage or until resale. Another company, Lotly, provides at least 15 per cent of a house's down payment and the homeowner as little as five per cent plus other purchasing costs. The homeowner can then buy the company out through sale or refinancing. “Lotly gets back our initial contribution plus our share of the home’s appreciation,” the company says. “We only make money if you do, i.e., when the home has increased in value.” Jason Heath, managing director of Objective Financial Partners, told Financial Post that prospective buyers should proceed slowly. “If you’re paying 100 per cent of the renovations to your home, but you’re sharing some of the appreciation and the home value with somebody else, I think that’s something that I would be cautious of." Meanwhile Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) has a similar downpayment plan, offering to purchase five to 10 per cent. But few people have taken the Crown agency up on it – only 20,000 in the last four years when CMHC had projected 100,000 in the first three. Analyst Robert Mclister said all these programs haven’t taken off because few people know about them and there are few prime lenders who’ve bought into the concept. But that could change as the market becomes more competitive and providers take a smaller percentage of gains.

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Apts snapped up in no time for first major Aburg rental complex in decades

WindsorOntarioNews.com Sept. 20 2023

It’s a testament to Amherstburg’s aging population and underserviced rental market that apartments at Piroli Group Development’s River’s Edge apartments have almost leased out in no time. Construction began on the first 114 unit building on Front Rd. just north of the main town site in June of last year. Only months later more than half had been signed for. Today 92 per cent of apartments have been rented. “We had a really strong interest from the local community and units have rented exceptionally quickly, we're down to our last nine units which puts us at 92% rented,” sales manager Danielle Grenier said. And this summer ground was broken on the second building, immediately north, “a near identical replica,” Grenier said. Who are the renters? “Tenants are primarily retirees who are local to the area, or who are moving back to the area,” she said. The first building opens Oct. 1 and the second is scheduled for Oct. 1 next year. Rents range from $1400 to $3100 depending on apartment size and views. “As you can expect units with river views garner higher rental prices,” Grenier said. The development also dramatically changes the entrance to the town, located across the street from the Detroit River. It's also near to what at one time was the General Chemical plant. An environmental assessment was completed for a buffer between the two sites, the second now owned by Amherstburg Land Holdings; the plant has long been demolished and site cleaned up. For River’s Edge tenants all utilities are included as well as washers and dryers and granite countertops. There’s even a golf simulator room. The buildings are also across the road from the Amherstburg Yacht Club. Owner Rob Piroli told WON last year the investment adds a “much needed” niche to Amherstburg’s housing stock. Grenier said the quick rentals show the town “needed additional rental units to serve its population.”

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