Windsor hoping to follow Detroit's lead

Some of Detroit’s greatest musical talents performed at a celebratory concert, marking the reopening of an 18-story building that long had symbolized their hometown’s decline.

Diana Ross, Eminem, and Jelly Roll were just three of the headliners Thursday night.

The refurbished train station opened to the public Friday, six years after Ford Motor Company took control of the building and more than three decades since the last train pulled out.

Hoping for the same success, Windsor councillors are in Calgary for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference.

“There's a lot of conversation going on about downtowns,” said Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino, who is in Calgary with Ward 2 Coun. Fabio Costante. “I know they have lots of problems, just like we do, but I want to focus on what they're doing for some of their solutions.”

Agostino noted a lot of people work in downtown Calgary, which creates vibrancy and allows for a thriving hospitality district.

“They have a walkable area where the road is closed,” said Agostino.

Mayor Drew Dilkens was in Calgary for the big mayors meetings where everyone was on the same page, “I think it’s fair to say that all big city mayors have housing and homelessness at the top of their agenda.”

Agostino also witnessed an app that helped police reclaim a stolen bike from a group hanging out in the downtown area. It's an idea Lori Newton pitched to Windsor police a few years back.

The executive director of the Bike Kitchen uses a similar app with stickers, which helped two owners retrieve their bikes last year.

“We invested about $3,000 years ago into this, and every new bike that we sell at the Bike Kitchen has one of these on it because we really understand the importance of trying to fight bike theft,” said Newton.

Costante took a walking tour Thursday admiring a neighbourhood with mixed-use housing, something he would like to see more of in Windsor.

“Not just the downtown core,” he noted. “I think in many of our neighborhoods. And, and I think we've got to be really thoughtful of how, you know, this type of planning and urban planning is designed and rolled out.”

Before he leaves, Costante hopes to tour Calgary's newer $245 million library, which was completed in 2018.

“We're in the process, right now, of relocating our downtown main branch and, obviously not at the same scale as what's here in Calgary. But, there may be some really interesting ideas that we can take from that,” said Costante.