City council will be getting an update on progress made under the Strengthen the Core-Downtown Windsor Revitalization Plan when they meet Monday.
Council approved the $3.2 million initiative in May 2024 with seven action items focused on improving safety, cleanliness, and business growth in the core, including an effort to address the impact of mental health, addiction, and homelessness on the downtown.
An administration report going to council details what has been done to achieve the goals since the plan was launched and seeks direction on what council wants to do in moving the plan forward in 2026.
According to the report, the overall feeling of safety downtown has improved, with fewer residents surveyed reporting that conditions had "significantly worsened" (36.7% in 2024 compared to 20.37% in 2025). More people also acknowledged that safety had "somewhat improved" (4.4% in 2024 versus 11.64% in 2025).
Ward 3 Councillor Renaldo Agostino represents downtown and says they're starting to move the needle.
"That doesn't mean we have our head in the sand and that we need to do some more big things. We're down there; we see what's going on, and we need more changes," he says. "Those are all discussions we're going to have on Monday, and I think part of the conversation will be 'Okay, we've seen what's worked, and I want to know what hasn't worked, and I want to know what the plan is for the things that haven't worked."
A survey also found that 40 per cent of residents also reported being "somewhat satisfied" or "very satisfied" with police visibility in 2025, a notable increase of nearly 16 per cent since 2024.
The plan included $1.4 million to add 12 more officers to the Windsor Police City Central Patrol Team to address drug use and disorderly conduct while working with health and social services.
Agostino says what has been working has been the increased police presence and efforts to beautify the core, with 32 businesses opening downtown since they started this work.
"The hospitality industry, the nightlife aspect of downtown, has seen a major increase in the past 12 months. A year and a half ago people were putting a nail in the coffin for the hospitality industry in downtown Windsor," he says."Right now it's booming; you see lineups again in downtown Windsor. But that's not all downtown Windsor has to be about."
Cleanliness is another area where residents are seeing progress, with 24 per cent expressing satisfaction with the general cleanliness of streets and sidewalks, which is up 9 per cent from 2024.
Agostino says now is not the time to look for pats on the back but instead to look at what still needs to be addressed.
"Mental health addictions and homelessness for sure. Those are the big ones and the ones that are very difficult because we don't have the budget, we don't have the people, and we need help. We also can't let things keep going the way they're going. We have to do something, and the conversations have opened up again, and we're going to keep looking toward that. Those are the big ones for me," he says.
To address property standards and vacant buildings in the core, enforcement action was also taken on over 60 vacant or non-compliant properties, and by-law officers logged 575 patrol hours.
Windsor City Council meets Monday, April 13, at 10 a.m. at Windsor City Hall.