Former Ontario cabinet minister Dave Cooke, fresh from stepping down as head of the University of Windsor's board of governors, is preparing a report on what it will take to start digging a $48-million-plus downtown canal and marina.Former Ontario cabinet minister Dave Cooke, fresh from stepping down as head of the University of Windsor's board of governors, is preparing a report on what it will take to start digging a $48-million-plus downtown canal and marina.
Mayor Eddie Francis said he hopes council will be able to get it by January and that the development can be dealt with as part of the 2010 capital budget deliberations.
The concept had been gathering dust since not making the cut in the spring as part of Ottawa's infrastructure stimulus funding for Windsor. After complaining that the project was being rushed through and without sufficient public input, city council overcame initial reluctance and voted in favour of adding it to Windsor's stimulus application list.
"There's been a lot of community interest -- (people) are asking what's needed to get this ahead," said Francis. There are other senior government funding sources that can be tapped, he added.
"I'm holding my breath. It needs to be something that will entice people and business to the downtown," said resident Dave Couvillion, whose home would become waterfront property if the canal is built. Initially an opponent, Couvillion said the neighbourhood now embraces the plan.
Another supporter is general contractor Sergio Bertucci, who based his university master's thesis in architecture on an urban canal concept for Windsor.
"I'm pretty excited about this -- I think it would do wonders for the downtown," said Bertucci, a lifelong Windsorite who aced his thesis this summer during an academic sabbatical and now hopes to pursue a career in architecture.
He said what he likes best about the proposal is that it connects an already beautiful riverfront walk to the downtown via a new water feature and that it also envisions winter usage.
Larry Horwitz, who sits on the downtown BIA executive, said he's been putting together a varied group of downtowners -- residents, business owners, professionals -- to help lobby for the canal project and ensure "this is not just a ditch but a world-class development."
But not everyone seems to share the excitement.
"I don't think we should proceed on a build-it-and-they-will-come premise," said Coun. Bill Marra. While "not dismissing this out of hand ... I'm going to be approaching this very cautiously," he added.
And if there's new senior government funding available for Windsor, then Marra said council should take a broader look and see whether there might be better projects to focus on, including establishment of an economic development fund previously suggested by the mayor.
Cooke, who headed the initial feasibility study paid for with private contributions, said everyone involved "felt incredible pressure" given the tight time frame to meet Ottawa's stimulus funding application deadline. He said the community will now be able to discuss what, to him, is "this huge opportunity."
Francis describes the proposal -- a riverfront marina and an inland canal meandering through a mixed-used neighbourhood of wide boulevards and public spaces -- as a "visionary, bold concept" that helps set the stage for the downtown's post-recession recovery.
As for the critics, Francis points to Legacy Park, the booming section of south Walker Road that saw a spurt of commercial growth after the city spent about $15 million on road widening and service upgrades to an area that had been on the farmland fringe.
Four developments there alone -- SilverCity, Staples, The Brick and Costco -- represent $45 million in new taxable assessments, he said.
"We did massive improvements to Walker Road -- nobody blinked an eye on the millions and millions put into concrete out there, and now they're returning millions to the city," said Francis. A similar effort is underway with the nearby unserviced lands expropriated from Tecumseh to accommodate urban growth.
"You make these infrastructure investments to unlock the potential of the lands that abut," he said. With Windsor's tax base eroding, the mayor said creative incentives are needed to attract new development and new sources of tax revenue.
But even in the downtown, where large expanses of empty parking lots on the western fringe represent the legacy of past failed dreams, Francis said "the pieces are falling into place."
Last week, the vacant former Salvation Army church was rezoned for a journalism school and, together with the St. Clair Centre for the Arts, there will soon be as many as 1,000 students studying in the downtown, many of them commuting through the recently built international bus terminal.
Coun. Dave Brister shares Marra's caution. Without a "destination attraction" such as an aquarium, a canal alone won't do it, he said. Absent of such a big new draw, Brister said he's concerned that the canal development simply risks displacing existing investment in the downtown.
Marra and Brister were the only two councillors who voted against having the canal proposal considered for stimulus funding.