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Windsor Ontario News / Buildings, Homes & Real EstateChatham Street West buildings were "terrible .... just junk" - developer
WindsorOntarioNews.com August 16 2018 There is now a price on the purchase of two former long time downtown restaurant properties, sold to a local development group, and which used to be part of a kind of restaurant row. The former City Beer Market and adjacent Chatham Street Grill buildings have been sold for a combined $2.4 million to a numbered company known as the St. Clair Rhodes Corp.
Buyer of Huron Church building must conform to green gateway standards
WindsorOntarioNews.com July 24 2018 The purchaser of the former Ontario tourist bureau on Huron Church Rd. is keeping mum about who they are and what plans they have for the building. (See June 26/18 story below right column.) The sale closed over the past month. Infrastructure Ontario spokesman Jeff Giffen also couldn’t disclose the purchase price. “We generally don’t announce those because it could impact our ability (on) future sales to get the best value,” he said.
Windsor complies with asbestos orders following a city worker's illness
WindsorOntarioNews.com June 19 2018 The City of Windsor is compling with three orders from the Ministry of Labour after a city staffer developed health problems related to asbestos. This was a skin rash the worker reported on her neck and arms following work involving cutting, removing and replacing old ceiling tiles at several city-owned buildings.
St. Anne Arms apartments adds an urban feel to the heart of Tecumseh
WindsorOntarioNews.com May 4 2018 St. Anne Arms is a rather unique development in the heart of Tecumseh, a project the likes of which the town hasn’t seen in quite some time if ever. The two buildings 12-unit apartment complex - six units per building - is under construction on Lesperance Rd. across from St. Anne Church near the corner of Tecumseh Rd. E. John Sapardanis of Re/Max Preferred Realty describes the project as a “quaint little complex.”
Aged Ouellette building had ballroom, bowling alley, swimming pool
WindsorOntarioNews.com October 5 2017 The new Windsor Centre for Film, Digital Media & The Creative Arts inherits a fascinating piece of Windsor’s building history. The red brick building on the west side of Ouellette just south of Wyandotte Street used to contain a ballroom, swimming pool and a bowling alley.
A "Flex Space" first for Ouellette Avenue businesses and public spaces
WindsorOntarioNews.com August 25 2017 It’s called Flex Space. For perhaps the first times in Ontario – and definitely the first time in Windsor – a major sidewalk in a business neighbourhood is being reimagined as both a park-like gathering space and a traditional pedestrian thoroughfare.
Timberland's LaSalle development shows townhomes can be high end too
WindsorOntarioNews.com July 12 2017 Timberland Homes, perhaps the area’s leading custom home builder, tapped a new market last year when it began construction of a town homes neighborhood at The Villas at Forest Trail. Timberland is known for its striking and tasteful stand alone homes, which can price at more than one million dollars and range from 3000 to 5000 square feet.
Kingsville's latest condo complex has panoramic park and Lake Erie views
WindsorOntarioNews.com May 24 2017 Lakeshore continues to attract major condominium projects, the latest being situated in perhaps the town’s most prime location – alongside Lakeside Park and Lake Erie. It’s called Lakeside Park Place Condominiums, a 39-unit, six storey building (five stories of suites and a top-level deck with surrounding panoramic views), with construction slated for late summer and to be completed towards the end of 2018. Telecommuting, better PR, could make Windsor more of a Toronto “suburb”
WindsorOntarioNews.com April 11 2017 Windsor may be too far away from Toronto to feel the spill over from that region’s skyrocketing house prices. Or is it? With today’s technology, and a little better PR, the city could end up being the destination for more and more housing refugees – people priced out of the GTA because of homes topping $900,000.
City's heritage ads cost thousands
WindsorOntarioNews.com March 27 2017 The cost of placing four ads in The Windsor Star informing of the City of Windsor’s “intention to designate” four properties for heritage purposes this past Saturday was $2,879.24. An additional notice informing of a recently passed bylaw to officially designate another property cost $481.38. City's most prestigious office building using address signs to market space
WindsorOntarioNews.com February 22 2017 One Riverside Dr., the city’s most prestigious business address, has decided to market its vacant office space by advertising its current tenants on new sidewalk signs. The tower, which most people know as Fiat Chrysler headquarters or the Canderel Building (a previous owner), has long had problems filling the 14-storey edifice with tenants.
Blockbuster condo complex proposed for Kingsville's "new downtown"
WindsorOntarioNews.com January 19 2017 A major nine storey upscale commercial and condo building would transform part of Kingsville and add high density to a developing commercial district east of the downtown core. Known as Kings' Villa Condos, local developer Joe Moavro is still seeking town approval and a second Planning Advisory Committee meeting is soon to take place, the first being held late last year.
Sportsplex subdivision expected to draw active families to the burg
WindsorOntarioNews.com Sept. 14 2016 You’ve heard of subdivisions bordering golf courses. But this new subdivision will be across the street from a major athletic complex. Amherstburg’s Nor-Built construction has received the green light to go ahead with a 150 residential housing development located diagonally across from the town’s Libro Credit Union Centre, one of the county’s most sophisticated sportsplexes.
City waives development fees, but would tax holiday be more effective?
WindsorOntarioNews.com August 9 2016 City council decided last week to waive development fees for the central city to encourage residential development and prevent continuing hollowing out of the area north of Tecumseh Road and between the far west side and Pillette Road. But will waiving development fees – which could amount to perhaps as much as $20,000 saving to construct a detached single family home – be enough to spur construction?
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Hot realty market has chef turn house flipper
The hot Windsor area real estate market has been a boon to one Windsor man, who has changed careers to profit from it. Chad Price is former culinary chef at a couple of Windsor eateries. But now his focus is on flipping real estate. (Price, as a hobby, also had a new children’s book out - his first - 'Just My Imagination' - see WON Arts & Entertainment). “I’m on a new venture right now (with a partner), we’re buying and flipping houses,” he says. “The market’s so good.” The only difficulty is being yet another buyer in a major buyer’s market. “It’s just tough getting a house because always we’re dealing with 15 people bidding on a bouse, so it’s just outrageous. Sometimes a house goes for $60,000 more than what they’re asking so it’s more like a lottery.” Price has long been doing home improvements so moving into flipping was a natural. Despite any buying obstacles – i.e., major competition from other potential buyers - Price and his partner are closing in on acquiring their sixth house. – 2/12/20
DT depot plans on hold as much as ever
The conversion of the former downtown Greyhound bus deposit, one of four parts of a new $32.6 million Windsor downtown mini creative arts campus, is still on hold, after the university suspended plans for redevelopment because of poor sub-soil conditions. “The status on the former bus terminal building has not changed and there is no new information available as yet on its redevelopment,” university spokeswoman Lori Lewis says. The plan was to convert the 1940 building for classrooms but that was shifted to the former Tunnel BBQ building across the street. There was also talk of having it be a campus social hub. Other than some slight exterior work last year the building is as abandoned as ever but with huge gray university logos over its former picture windows. The problem was that, after acquiring the property, the university was informed that demolishing most of the structure – other than the University Ave. façade – and doubling the size to 15,000 sq. ft., wouldn’t be feasible. That’s because the building sits atop the Windsor-Detroit tunnel and excavation and additional weight from an expanded building could damage the underground tube. – 16/7/18
Pending ... pending
A Sold sign has finally been stuck on the CBRE listed property that used to house the Ontario tourism office on Huron Church Rd. But the final sale still hasn’t gone through, according to Jeff Giffen of Infrastructure Ontario’s real estate and lending division. It’s “not 100 per cent final,” he said, alluding to a closing date. The property was listed in 2013 after a year’s extension to a planned closure in 2012. Local officials persuaded the province to keep the bureau open at Canada’s busiest border crossing. The province had decided to close the office to save money at the same time it had created a tourist office in the then new ONroute service centre in Tilbury. Giffen said no exact value was put on the 1.3-acre property with a 3600 sq. ft. building. Instead Infrastructure Ontario opened bidding in a “competitive process.” Stay tuned. – 6/26/18
Drive - thru resto at A'burg Sobeys site?
The Town of Amherstburg is holding a public meeting to consider a rezoning change to allow fast food operations on the current Sobeys store site in Amherstburg. The land in question is identified as 83 Sandwich St S., the same address as Sobeys. Windsor’s Mikhail Holdings developed the site and a faded billboard advertises “Will Build to Suit, Prime Retail Space Available” adjacent to the Sobeys store. Specifically, says the town planning dept., the zoning change would be “to maximize the usage of the site and allow for a drive-through restaurant on the subject property.” The meeting will be May 10, 5 pm at council chambers. – 1/5/18