The City of Windsor is looking to designate six properties associated with the University of Windsor as heritage buildings.
A notice of intent was presented to the city's Development and Heritage Standing Committee on Monday afternoon, which looked to designate the six buildings as official heritage buildings.
Those buildings include Assumption College - Hall #3 and Chapel, Dillon Hall U of W, Memorial Hall, the John H. Rodd House, the John Stuart House, and the Kamen House.
Currently, all six of these buildings are listed as heritage, but not officially designated under the Windsor Municipal Heritage Register.
If these buildings are not officially designated, the properties will lose all heritage status and will be removed from the Windsor Register as of January 1, 2027, leading to risks such as demolition and loss of heritage.
While each of these buildings feature heritage criteria based on their architectural style, they each are pivotal properties to the University of Windsor's history.
Kieran McKenzie, ward 9 councillor and committee member, and an alumni of the University of Windsor, says the community is aware of the importance of these buildings.
"You see those buildings, you understand where they are, you understand the history behind it, you understand the University of Windsor's story that so many successful people in Canada sat in those seats, were in that building, and did amazing things."
He says this shows there are historical assets that need to be protected.
"There's a culmination, at least at the Standing Committee level, of a lot of great work to identify these historical assets on the campus of the University of Windsor, and to take one additional step forward to protect those assets in perpetuity. Really, really pleased to see that go forward."
McKenzie says the university has been a great team player in getting these buildings designated.
"This is the fun part of doing heritage. Sometimes it's not as much fun because you get into financial challenges, you have some folks who may not want the designation to go forward despite the fact that they have a historically significant asset. So, in this case, we had none of that, we had cooperation and collaboration."
Windsor city council will need to provide final approval at a later date.
Following the Ontario Heritage Act process, if there are no delays in the approval process, the six buildings are expected to be designated in the next three to four months.
As of Nov. 5, 2025, the Windsor Municipal Heritage Register includes 1,272 properties, with 881 listed but not designated.
Background on each proposed property:
- Assumption College at 400 Huron Church Road features a Scholastic Gothic and Gothic Revival architecture with a high degree of craftsmanship in brickwork and metalwork. It was founded in 1857 as the first post-secondary institution for men west of Toronto. It has become a landmark of the UWindsor campus and Sandwich area.
- Dillon Hall U of W at 401 Sunset Avenue features a Gothic Revival architectural style. It was originally the arts building for Assumption College and later became a part of the university. It was pivotal in development of education in southern Ontario and is a continued landmark of the UWindsor campus.
- Memorial Hall at 401 Sunset Avenue features an Art Deco architectural style and was built as a tribute to 121 WWII soldiers from Assumption College. It became an example of a "functional" war memorial that was popular in Canada after WWII, and is symbolic of the college's wartime history.
- John H. Rodd House at 2629 Riverside Drive West features Prairie School and American Craftsman architectural styles. The home was linked to John H. Rodd who was influential in Windsor barrister and the Crown Attorney. The home also reflects the character of the former Town of Sandwich.
- John Stuart House at 197 Sunset Avenue is a Colonial Revival architectural style with a high degree of craftsmanship. It's known as one of Sandwich's most beautiful homes from 1924. The home is prominent of Stuart who was a prominent Windsor businessman. The home was sold to UWindsor in 1964 and was used as the residence for acting president for many years.
- Kamen House at 223 Sunset Avenue features a Craftsman architectural style with a high degree of craftsmanship. It is also known as one of Sandwich's most beautiful homes from 1924. The home was built for a prominent physician who modernized x-ray use in cancer research and was later purchased by Dina & Zalman Kamen who were prominent figures in Windsor's Jewish community.