$8-million boutique hotel planned for Windsor’s Little Italy
There’s something new planned for Windsor’s Little Italy.
Co-owner of 781 Erie Street, Randy Saccucci, believes a boutique hotel is just what the area needs to add to the area’s restaurants, café’s and proximity to downtown.
“We believe that this is the first boutique-style hotel, independently owned in Windsor,” says Saccucci.
Located at the corner of Erie street and Marentette, the building was originally zoned for apartments, but at Monday’s Development and Heritage Standing Committee meeting, rezoning passed to turn the 4-storey building to a 12-unit hotel.
“At the end of the day if the City of Windsor is going to grow, hotels are one of the things that are going to be needed. More tourists, more hotels,” says Saccucci.
If approved by council next month, Saccucci says the $8-million development will create dozens of jobs.
“Once we figure out what we are doing with the commercial space on the main floor, we figure it will bring in between 15-30 jobs in total between the hotel and commercial space,” says Saccucci.
“When we first found out about it, we were really happy about it. it’s something we always wanted on Erie street, a nice little boutique hotel,” says Erie street BIA president Fil Rocca.
Boutique hotel planned for 781 Erie Street in Windsor, Ont. (Courtesy of Randy Saccucci)
He says it's another reason for visitors to come to the area.
“I’ve been meeting with people from out of town booking weddings for 2022 and they are asking me already to book some rooms across the street. It’s going to be a great thing for Erie Street and Windsor,” says Rocca.
“We offer everything from five star to lower economy and now if this goes through a nice boutique hotel so that’s a very welcoming addition to the offering we have for accommodation in the region,” says Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island CEO, Gordon Orr.
Hotels, an industry hit hard by the pandemic, are looking at a slow recovery according to Orr.
“They’re predicting 2024 before we start to see pre-COVID numbers. That being said there is a demand for accommodations in different market segments. So there will be a demand hopefully by the time this is built and we start to see our accommodation levels rise again,” says Orr.
Saccucci says each suite will have a full kitchen and its own balcony when they open. Completion is planned for January 2022.
“Although the apartments would have been rented and we’ve had a lot of inquiries about apartments. I think a hotel is going to suit the street and this corner a lot better,” says Saccucci.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.