$20M redevelopment vision for Festival Plaza approved, but no construction timeline yet

City council has approved a $20-million master plan that will see Festival Plaza on Windsor, Ont.'s riverfront transformed into a greener space with walking trails and shaded structures. 

But the decision, according to city staff, doesn't mean that vision will be what happens and won't immediately lead to construction crews on site. 

Instead, it's a visionary agreement that council will use to guide construction needing approval by council and may not begin for years. 

Downtown Coun. Renaldo Agostino, who led the support for the plan, called the site a jewel that Windsor needs to invest in. 

"That's our Niagara Falls," Agostino said.

Coun. Fred Francis opposed the $20-million option because he's worried the final tenders that come back when council decides to start construction will be budget. 

"It's not a priority right now; if it was, let's spend what is in the budget," said Francis.

Council has set aside $12 million in a riverfront project budget over the next 10 years that can be used in a phased approach. 

But construction won't start until city council gives staff direction to begin certain phases of .

WATCH | Windsor council to consider $20M upgrade of Riverfront Festival Plaza: 

Windsor council to consider $20M upgrade of Riverfront Festival Plaza

19 days ago

Duration 2:45

City of Windsor administration is recommending the most expensive of three options to overhaul the Riverfront Festival Plaza. Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino says that's what the downtown core needs, but Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis is wary of more spending on unnecessary new infrastructure. CBC's Dalson Chen reports.

"We have no intention of beginning this project next year," said Ray Mensour, the city's commissioner of community services.

City staff have spent years examining how to solve the issues with the festival plaza and have spent $8 million upgrading it over 16 years. 

A canopy-covered plaza was pitched to council but was sent back to staff for reconsideration last year after inflation hiked project costs to $67 million.

The plaza was called "unviable" in its current form by city administration because it lacks amenities for large events and becomes a scorching heat island in summer. 

Staff came back with three options focused on breaking up the concrete space with green areas and shade:

• A $13-million redevelopment with green space and walking paths.
• A $17-million option that includes the above as well as a water feature
• A $20-million design that includes the above features as well as a secondary stage, an "iconic centrepiece" tree and a couple of "modern shade structures."

An event planner who uses the Festival Plaza said it's hard to pull off a successful event in the summer because of the scorching heat.

Seth Perera said that to make money, the events need to be open for as long as possible because the sun makes the afternoon hours unbearable. 

He also believes the plaza needs to be built up to lower costs for operators, which would encourage more events.  

Perera, who helped organize Bluesfest on the riverfront in previous years, said that's a very difficult event to pull off with the plaza in its current condition. 

"It just costs too much. It costs way too much to bring all those elements down there year after year,' said Perera. 

"It becomes unviable to have to bring all that stuff down there: portable toilets, portable bars, tenting and umbrellas, shading, all that stuff."

He supported the $20-million design which he believes "would be a great thing for the city and would bring more business to the downtown."

City council now needs to decide when to start building the plaza. It was warned by administration that most of the money is tied to 2029 and accessing that earlier could lead to interest charges. 

It's expected to be discussed in upcoming budget deliberations. 

Couns. Francis, Fabio Costante and Angelo Marignani opposed the master plan.