A Windsor city councillor is calling on the federal government to do something with the former H.M.C.S. Hunter building on Ouellette Avenue.
Ward 3 councillor Renaldo Agostino says the building has sat vacant for too long and he's tired of looking at the fencing there.
"That area right now is a hindrance and it needs to be cleaned up and part of cleaning up that area is dealing with that building right and it's got to get done now," says Agostino.
Agostino says he wants an update on the property and will be asking the city to send a letter to the federal government.
He wants to know what the government has planned for the site.
Agostino feels that area is the gateway to downtown.
"I'm really putting a focus on that area with moving the Downtown Mission, cleaning up the area, getting that stuff done and to see that vacant H.M.C.S. Hunter building it gets on my nerves," says Agostino.
He says it's time something is done with that building.
"I certainly don't want to take shots but I got to put people on blast and say we got to do something here," he says. "That building has been vacant for too long and I'm tired of looking at the fence there, I'm tired at looking at the opportunity that exists and I need to hear some action."
Agostino believes there is interest in the site.
"We are in a housing crisis right and here you have this federal building sitting there and nothing going on," says Agostino. "We got to get moving and trust me I'm not going to point the finger and say you're not doing your job, I'm out here saying, I'm here to help, let's get something done."
The former naval armed forces facility at 960 Ouellette Avenue near Erie Street has been sitting empty since 2015, when the naval reserve moved to a new complex at the end of Mill Street in west Windsor.
In November 2023, former Windsor-Tecumseh Liberal MP Irek Kusmierczyk said outside of the facility, that conversations started on trying to maximize surplus federal properties in the region to build more affordable housing.
Kusmierczyk said he had conversations with the Department of Defence, which owns the property, along with the Ministers of Procurement and Housing about its potential.
The building is zoned for residential with the potential for 18 storeys, but Kusmierczyk said in 2023, that could even grow to 24 storeys.