Windsor's Greek Orthodox community is ushering in 2018 with a new home.
The $7.5-million dollar church and community centre on Walker Rd. near the EC Row Expressway is nearing completion and should be done within the next couple of weeks.
Community President Panos Sechopoulos expects Saturday classes for Greek children should begin operating out of the centre next month and the church should be completed in March and ready for services for Easter.
"We haven't had any facilities outside of a basement of our church," he says. "So right now, we rent space from the school board for our Saturday school."
He says the Greek community can't wait.
"The community is very excited," he says. "It has been a long time coming."
Greek Community Centre on Walker Rd. January 2018 (Photo by AM800's Teresinha Medeiros)
Right now, the community meets in the basement of a 50 year old church.
"We are also going to have some meeting spaces and after church we will be able to gather in our community centre which will be located right next to the church which we never had before."
The church and community centre services about 500 families in the region.
Sechopoulos says the project in on budget.
The Greek community purchased the Walker Rd. site when land in Oldcastle was expropriated by the province for the Herb Gray Parkway.