Rezoning requested to build 16-storey apartment building downtown on Caron Avenue

A corner of a block in downtown Windsor could be the site of an ambitiously modern 16-storey apartment building

The proposed location for the building — on the northeast corner of Caron Avenue at Chatham Street West — is just across the street from the municipally-owned parking lot that the city announced last week is up for sale for high-rise residential development.

The site is adjacent an existing 16-storey apartment building, Dieppe Tower, and also near the lot on Riverside Drive West where Farhi Holdings is planning on building a 28-storey apartment building.

A diagram showing the profile of the proposed 16-storey apartment building on Caron Avenue, in comparison with existing buildings and planned buildings. (Baird AE)

"This new proposed building would not be out of scale with what is immediately nearby, and also throughout the City Centre planning district," states a planning consultant's report on the project.

"The site is currently underutilized, and the addition of a high-density residential development that is sensitive to the urban fabric and historic character for the area will enhance the urban experience of the area, and Windsor."

Concept drawings of the proposed 16-storey apartment building at Caron Avenue and Chatham Street West. (Baird AE)

The 16-storey, 88-unit apartment structure is being proposed by London-based developer Magnificent Homes.

Designs for the building show that its second, third, and fourth floors would be devoted to a 70-space indoor parking garage, with an open-air terrace on the fifth floor.

The ground floor would be reserved for amenities such as tenant storage rooms, fitness facilities, and a games room.

The proposal includes creation of a small outdoor parking lot for visitors, located on the southeast corner of Caron Avenue and Chatham Street West.

Rezoning and an amendment to the city's official plan are necessary for construction to begin. The city's Development and Heritage Standing Committee approved those steps on Monday, but further approval by council will be required.

An overhead map showing the location of the proposed 16-storey apartment building, next to the municipal parking lot on Caron Avenue. (City of Windsor)

David French, a consultant with Storey Samways Planning Ltd., who have been retained by Magnificent Homes, was in attendance at Monday's meeting.

"I see this as a very good project to bring people downtown," French said outside the meeting chambers. "A solely residential building where normally mixed-use buildings would be located."

French said the tower will have condominiums in the range of "one bedroom, two bedroom, two bedroom plus den."

According to French, great care was taken so that the facade of the parking garage floors will match the character of the neighbourhood — which as heritage distinction as Windsor's "Old Town."

"It's a pretty high-tech project, when you look at the design. When you have limited space available, you have to come up with some pretty specific answers to problems."

French said the timeline on construction of the project remains "a moving target," but he knows Magnificent Homes wishes to move forward "expeditiously."

A computer rendering of the street-level building facade of the apartment building proposed for Caron Avenue at Chatham Street West. (Baird AE)

Last week, Mayor Drew Dilkens said city planners envision the municipal parking lot on Caron Avenue as the site of a residential development up to 14 stories in height.

At the announcement, Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino welcomed announcements of more housing in downtown Windsor.

"We need people living here, enjoying the amenities that we have, the new ones that are going to come, and then going back home in our downtown core," Agostino said. "We want our downtown to be great, but we also need it to be a neighbourhood."

Encouragement of residential development in the city's core is one of the "action items" of the recently-approved Downtown Windsor Revitalization Plan.

In February 2023, city council committed to a goal of creating 13,000 new housing units by 2031, as part of its housing pledge to the provincial government.