Controversy continues to swirl over the downtown Pelissier Street parking garage in Windsor.
The city has received bids to complete the conversion from eight retail spaces to 42 ground floor parking spaces.
City staff originally estimated the cost at just over $500,000. But the lowest bid is $888,000 while the highest is $1.1-million.
Mayor Drew Dilkens tells CTV Windsor it doesn't change the fact that there's demand for parking spaces, and he stands by council's decision.
“Sometimes things come in under, sometimes they come in over,” says Dilkens. “Administration I think has done the right thing. They've sat down with the low bidder, they've gone through a value engineering process to see if there's a way to cut out costs from the original bid."
However, Downtown Windsor BIA Chair Larry Horwitz says the bids should be raising eyebrows around the council table.
“Heads must roll,” says Horwitz. “This is ridiculous. This is one of the dumbest things I've seen in the city in the longest time."
Youssef Hair Salon and Pride Windsor were forced to leave the retail space at the parking garage and find new homes because of Council’s decision.
“All these decisions are made on misinformation,” adds Horwitz. “We have to go back and find out what caused this problem."
City administration will prepare a report on the final costs for council.
Council at that time can change the course of action.
