A property developer is bringing forward plans to create over 1,600 new rental units across several towers on Windsor's waterfront.
At a public open house on Wednesday evening, Auburn Developments pitched residents their plans to redevelop property along Riverside Drive West and Crawford Avenue.
The property, which used to house CBC News Windsor, would be redeveloped to include three high-rise apartment buildings consisting of five towers, each with 17 to 25 storeys.
As part of the plans, Auburn would create a block of townhouses with 44 units for rent. To avoid neighbourhood congestion, plans include more than 1,700 parking spaces between underground and above-grade structures.
More than a dozen residents who live near the proposal attended the meeting, with most showing support. However, many residents asked Auburn to consider adding commercial units along the bottom level of the structures to include cafes, shops, and a grocery store.
Donald Albert, whose home sits about three blocks away, says the area needs more growth.
"These renderings are absolutely beautiful, when you look at 1,600 units coming into our neighbourhood... that would completely transform our area. So, I'm all for it. I'm not worried about the parking. I'm not worried about the traffic. I want people here. It brings restaurants. It just brings people downtown."
Area resident Sarah Morris says she has fears that the current building could be demolished without Auburn's plans coming to fruition.
"It's a beautiful, historic building, and it's part of Windsor heritage and music heritage. So, that's important that that's there... however, we also want to see development, and that's really important to us too. Our concern is that if this development doesn't go through and the CBC isn't there, then we have the worst of both worlds."
Alex Vandersluis, development manager for Auburn Developments, says the concerns from nearby residents were very reasonable.
"They want to understand that there's a reasonable parking provision on the site to support the number of units that we're proposing to build. They want to make sure that there aren't impacts to their streets, to the intersections locally. We also heard support for potentially some commercial uses within the development which is interesting, that's certainly feedback that we'll take back as we finalize our resubmission to the city."
The development remains many years from coming to fruition due to the approvals and processes required by the city and province.
In addition to zoning approvals at City Hall, Auburn Developments must also meet heritage requirements.
CBC Windsor's 825 Riverside Drive West property is listed on the city's municipal heritage register.
Auburn Developments will now return to a team of consultants to consider any changes before fully submitting their application to the city.
-with files from CTV Windsor's Robert Lothian