Windsor's mayor says the Sandwich South lands are 'the key to the future success of the region.'
During his State of the City address Wednesday at a Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Drew Dilkens told the crowd that there is urgency to get the land serviced and ready for investment because they are running out of useable land at Windsor Airport.
The undeveloped land in question is south of Windsor Airport, near the site of the planned Windsor-Essex Acute Care Hospital at County Road 42 and the 9th Concession, and directly south of the proposed $5 billion NextStar Energy EV battery production plant.
Dilkens says the goal is to open up over 1,000 acres of land in Sandwich South for employment purposes but it's going to take eight years to make the land ready.
He says opening up and making the land serviceable will take time and money.
"We need to do land acquisition, we have to move roads, and we have to move all the services out there; it's really time and money," he says. "There are studies that have to happen to make all this move forward, and so the estimated time-I'm probably being pretty generous by saying eight years; some are saying it's probably closer to 10."
Dilkens says the goal is to create the closest industrial park at the U.S.-Canada border on the Canadian side; that's how we benefit from the new Gordie Howe International Bridge.
"I will not be mayor when this work is all done; I guarantee that. Whoever is mayor at the time, when they take office, if there is no land available to sell, you might as well close down Invest WindsorEssex, close down your own economic development department, and just ride it out because there will be nothing left to sell and nothing left to do," he says.
Along with servicing the land, road work is also needed to create greater access to the land, including the future extension of Lauzon Parkway and an interchange connecting Lauzon with Highway 401, a project that is expected to cost over $120 million.
The province has already supported Windsor with a procurement of an environmental assessment and design of an interchange, but funding for the interchange has yet to be announced.
The City of Windsor's 2025 budget includes millions in spending in the 10-year capital plan to continue the extension of Lauzon Parkway and improve a section of County Road 42 to help service Sandwich South along with spending on other infrastructure investments.