Construction is progressing at the Paul Martin Building in downtown Windsor, where a boutique hotel will open inside the historic structure.
80 to 100 suites, a restaurant, a cafe, and possibly a gym are expected to be built as part of a $30-million investment.
Dilkens says based on what he’s seen first hand, the restoration work is extensive and already well advanced.
“It’s going really well. They’ve told me they’ve spent more than $7-million inside already and it’s quite impressive,” he said. “I went in about 60 days ago and saw the floor work that they had done. Restoring the original floors that are in there.”
The building currently houses the Central Branch of the Windsor Public Library (WPL), which has been asked to vacate the space by early 2028.
Dilkens said continued progress and timelines depend largely on when the library can vacate the space.
“I think they would prefer that the library leave that building, sooner rather than later, so they can continue with all of the renovations at one time. It’s easier to have one site that’s closed off, do all the renovations than have to work around an operation,” Dilkens said. “We’re trying to work with them to figure out what that pathway looks like to be able to facilitate having this boutique hotel open in downtown Windsor.”
Dilkens confirmed the city is awaiting a response from the province on a potential new site for a permanent downtown library at the former Ontario Tourism building near City Hall.
“We continue to be interested in that tourism building, and I know Infrastructure Ontario has put something out asking us if we were interested. We did express an interest to Infrastructure Ontario, and so they’re going through their process,” he said. “Once we have a better line of sight, we’ll certainly go to city council and ask for their direction.”
In March, around 40 WPL administrative staff were moved from the Paul Martin Building into the former Motor City Community Credit Union building across from City Hall.