Some residents in Windsor say a new $45-million seniors apartment complex will help their neighbourhood.
The city’s planning committee has recommended council extend the boundary of the downtown Community Improvement Plan to accommodate a proposal from Piroli Development Group.
The six storey, 147-unit apartment building geared for middle-income seniors and retirees would be built at the corner of Wyandotte and Crawford, a parcel of land that has been largely vacant for nearly three decades.
“It's got the makings of a great location,” says Rob Piroli, the president of the building group. “Transit is right in front our property and we're on a city corner. So it just makes sense to have this type of development here.”
The downtown CIP offers incentives such as tax rebates and grants to developers, which is what attracted Piroli to the site. That is why he asked the planning committee to extend the boundary.
The proposal also has the support of many residents in the neighbourhood.
"I think something new would just bring everything up and maybe change the whole neighbourhood itself,” says resident Michelle Neill.
"It's good news for something coming here,” adds resident Frank Harshaw. “It'll be good to get this all cleared up and get some residential living in there."
Since the downtown CIP was approved in the fall of 2017, it's attracted $59-million of investment in downtown Windsor. That encompasses nearly 200 new residential units, 160 refurbished hotel rooms and seven new retail businesses.
Piroli will still need council approval not only for the CIP boundary change, but also some zoning changes for the 3.6-acre plot of raw land.
If council approves the project, Piroli says shovels could be in the ground by next March with a completion in the summer of 2020.
