Construction of a new boutique hotel in the downtown core is causing a slight disruption to library users and staff.
Work is well underway inside of the Paul Martin Building on Ouellette Avenue, which is the current home of the Windsor Public Library Central Branch.
In December 2023, the city announced that Rob Myers, the owner of Chatham's Retro Suites and RM Auto Restoration, was taking over the Paul Martin Building from the city as part of a $30-million investment to create 80 to 100 suites, a restaurant, a cafe, and possibly a gym inside the property.
The Central Branch has been located inside of the Paul Martin Building since February 2020, but was asked to leave its location earlier this year due to the construction of the hotel.
As construction is ongoing, staff at the library have voiced their concerns of the impact of the renovations.
The concerns were that industrial equipment was used on the library floor during hours of operation with staff and library users present.
Ward 3 city councillor and a member of the Windsor Public Library Board, Renaldo Agostino, says he understands why staff were upset over the work being done.
"There's some exposed pipes, and from what I understand everything was done properly, all the right people were there, but it was disruptive to a staff member that sent us an email, and is pretty upset about it, and I get it."
He says progress has a price.
"It's one of those things where there's going to be times in life where everything is not going to be the same way you want it to be, it's not going to be perfect for you, but as long as there's a sacrifice, there's a method to the madness for that. And getting the Paul Martin building transformed is a transformational project for downtown Windsor."
Agostino says the question comes down to what is next if the construction on the hotel is ahead of schedule.
"Do we as a library, and does the library staff, does the community come together and say to ourselves - 'should we look at another temporary home until we have an ideal, full-time home?'. And that's a question that I'm not afraid to talk about if that comes forward because I think that's the question here."
The Central Branch will need to be out of the Paul Martin building in early 2028.
-with files from AM800's The Kyle Horner Show