After funding requests were denied by both the federal and provincial government, city council has opted to put up $550,000 to kick start the Civic Plaza project connecting the new city hall to Windsor's waterfront.
Mayor Drew Dilkens says the money will be used for public consultation and concept drawings to get the project closer to being shovel ready.
Dilkens says not a single project in Windsor-Essex received cash in this round of funding, but Dilkens says Ontario Premier Doug Ford indicated there would be opportunities in the near future.
"When the Premier was here last week he talked to all of the mayors of Essex County and talked about how he recognized that this was important work to get done, and that each of us has important projects. He committed to bringing back a lot more money, whether the federal government participates or not, he committed to getting more money on the table to get more projects done," says Dilkens.
He says having a clear plan moving forward will make the project that much more attractive.
"As the province gears up to offer more money we need to be in a shovel ready position to be able to take advantage of that. What we want to do is make sure that the city is prepared in order to leverage additional dollars through programs that will come down either through the provincial government alone or through the provincial and federal government," says Dilkens.
He says this will help ensure another chance at funding isn't missed.
"We have never missed an opportunity as a city to take advantage of leveraged dollars. So if we can put a dollar on the table and the other levels of government come and match that, we always take advantage of those programs. The approval by city council is making sure that the city doesn't miss an opportunity to leverage dollars that the Premier has indicated will be forthcoming," added Dilkens.
If approved, the Civic Plaza project is expected to cost $15-million and be completed sometime in 2023.
With files from Rob Hindi