Inconsistent data about Windsor's future housing needs?

 

Questions about Windsor's Housing Market

Two exciting proposals for six 16-storey condo towers in Downtown Windsor were presented at Windsor City Council on September 14, 2020. If the developments proceed as proposed, 1,414 new residential units will be added to the city's housing stock. Combined with the announcement last year to develop 650 residential units on the former Grace Hospital site, this is great news for Windsor's tight housing market! When the zoning for a new hospital on County Road 42 went to Council for approval on August 13, 2018, the planning report projected a need for 6,900 new residential units in Windsor over the next 20 years. Of these, 3,280 homes were to be built in the 1,000 acre/400 hectare area surrounding the proposed hospital site. To date, this area, known as Sandwich South, is still completely undeveloped active farmland.   Residents are continuously told by municipal leaders there is insufficient space for this number of units to be built in existing parts of the city. This alleged lack of residential housing space in Windsor's already developed neighbourhoods was a key factor in the Sandwich South development approval process. Yet, numerous announcements for thousands of new residential units in existing parts of the City have been made in the two years since Council approved Sandwich South in 2018. We've been tracking the major ones at this link.  Amazingly, the projects unveiled this week bring the total new residential units announced to 6,876. Almost 3,000 of them are to be located downtown. In just two years, construction projects comprising 100% of Windsor's supposed 20-year additional residential needs have already been announced, without expanding the city's developed footprint and without Sandwich South!

The interactive map below tracks residential construction announcements since 2018. Click on each marker to see the number of planned units, and a link to source documents:

The questions we are asking this week: 1. Updated projections: When can the City of Windsor's Planning Department be expected to update its 20-year residential housing projections? What is the current need for additional homes beyond the projects that are already in progress? How much more infill and brownfield land is still available for redevelopment to meet the city's projected residential housing needs? 2. Hospital healthcare services belong where people live: The planned replacement of the Windsor Regional Hospital Ouellette Campus acute care hospital with a limited hours urgent care centre and other outpatient services will reduce the appeal of living in downtown Windsor, especially for seniors and those who don't drive. With the unexpected yet very welcome news of thousands of new homes to be built downtown, the heart of Windsor is on the cusp of a much-needed resurgence. What are decision makers doing to ensure urban residents of all ages and in all socio-economic groups are provided with appropriate and accessible healthcare amenities? 3. Justification for greenfield expansion: Has there ever really been a demonstrated need to build homes in the 1,000 acre/400 hectare subdivision to be anchored by the new hospital in Sandwich South?

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In their own words: Members of our community comment on the issues

"Excellent step forward. Now let’s start to make downtown a place we can all be proud if."

"Counsel [sic] is excited that 1.414 units are to be built downtown, they also want houses there too, that means thousands more people living downtown. How long will it take them to get to the hospital which will be basically out of Windsor? "

"How can you think of housing 5000 additional people in the core without a full service hospital?"

"Major cities in Canada have historically dated hospital facilities strategically based within their core area, where they remain. This prompted further development as the need arose. Obsolescence was overcome by due consideration to multiple complex and extended priorities."

"I would find it very wasteful and irresponsible for the province to invest $101 million in 2004 and then 10 years later support Windsor leaders who want to demolish the entire site. I support building a 20 story tower with 5 floors of parking and 15 floors of single rooms on the Met site. COVID 19 is going to be a financial burden for decades as taxpayers shoulder Provincial and Federal costs. Windsor needs to rethink its expectations and propose more affordable solutions to improve heath care."