Upcoming town hall to focus on driving tourism to downtown Windsor
Local businessman Brian Schwab and his group have invested into the future of the city core.
“Pretty important to the entire city and a larger audience that downtown is as good as it can be,” said Schwab.
An effort is being made by Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino to set the downtown on a path to success. He is planning a town hall Wednesday focusing on the hospitality and tourism industry.
“There's a lot of bright minds and I want to get all those minds together so we can have a frank discussion on the direction that we're going in moving forward post-COVID,” said Agostino.
Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island CEO Gordon Orr would like the downtown to thrive.
“We know when the downtown is thriving that our entire industry is going to be better off for it,” he said.
Orr says there are signs the tourism industry is starting to rebound post pandemic.
“Our hotel occupancy year over year is up 18 points over last year,” he said. “April alone was up 26 per cent and our occupancy sits at about 62 per cent right now.”
Agostino wants American visitors to be part of the rebound.
“This is a great opportunity to re-establish those ties and it's going to take us to extend the olive branch to Michigan to say hey, we're still here,” said Agostino. “Come on back. COVID is over.”
Schwab is interested in attending the town hall and has some suggestions.
“I think the property owners downtown have to take some responsibility and do things to improve their properties,” he said. “It allows downtown to be clean, beautiful and safe.”
Schwab and his group own properties downtown and have improved lighting and security and invested in activating alley's that otherwise would be a haven for blight.
He also suggests the city eliminate boarding of empty businesses and encourages increased security measures.
“Can we do things downtown to make the presence of law enforcement more visible?” Schwab said.
Agostino adds, “Everyone who has skin in the game should have a voice and those voices are gonna be heard here on Wednesday night and I hope that's what will get people motivated to really step up and step forward to make a better downtown for all of us.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.