Expressions of interest will be sought in the near future for three more city-owned properties as part of the Housing Solutions Made for Windsor initiative.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens announced Wednesday that the city is adding three more properties to the list: the former St. Michael's Adult Education School at 477 Detroit Street, part of Kinsmen Norman Road Park at 1730 Olive Road, and the former Concord Public Elementary School Site on Raymond Avenue.
The Housing Solutions Made for Windsor plan is focused on opening shovel-ready municipally owned lands for residential housing developments to increase the housing supply across Windsor.
The city has already approved rezoning to allow six single-unit homes to be built at Kinsmen Norman Road Park in Ward 8, which would see a portion of the park opened up for housing.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens says when we sell the lots, we're going to take the money and do park improvements to that particular park.
"The city will benefit by having more housing and getting the property tax dollars in perpetuity," he says.
Ward 8 Councillor Gary Kaschak says they're not looking for anything really big in the park.
"This is the first foray into resizing a park. I think we're going to do it right. We don't want to bombard the residents with high density. I think we'd like to do this properly," he says.
Kaschak says he'd like a walking track and a basketball court as part of the park improvements.
"Park benches and maybe a community garden and different things like that. The housing I'd like to see limited, nothing too high-density," he says.
The former St. Michael's Adult Education School site has 3.61 acres available for residential development, while the former Concord Public Elementary School site has 2.28 acres available for residential development.
The city has identified several other properties as part of the Housing Solutions Made for Windsor, which are in various stages of the process, including:
A $16.8 million development that will see 48 units built at the Pelissier Street Parking Lot site on Pelissier Street near Wyandotte Street.
A $300 million development by Farhi Holdings Corporation that will see three buildings and 200 units constructed on the Caron Avenue parking lot, which is also unlocking the proposed development of a nearby 28-story residential tower with 187 units and commercial space at 629 Riverside Drive, at the corner of Janette Avenue.
The expression of interest process is nearly complete for the Roseland clubhouse and parking lot site, with the demolition of the clubhouse scheduled for April 2026.
An expression of interest is scheduled to be released in May for the former W.D. Lowe school site.
The former Grace Hospital site and the former Windsor Arena site are also being examined by the city for potential development opportunities.