‘Too costly’ — Windsor backs out of chosen homeless hub location

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Windsor has abandoned its pursuit of the west-end industrial site it chose for a permanent Homelessness and Housing Help Hub.

During a closed-door meeting earlier this month, council voted to cease negotiations for the vacant 7.14-acre property at 700 Wellington Ave, a process that could have required expropriation by the municipality.

As part of the expropriation process, the city investigated what it would take to clean up the lot that once housed multiple buildings ravaged by fire in 1996, including a former breakfast cereal plant and a textile company that sent used clothes overseas.

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The city on Monday announced undisclosed land acquisition costs were too rich for council’s taste. Council opted instead to seek a different location for a permanent H4, with plans for 64 transitional housing units, on-site social and wellness services, and a new home for the Downtown Mission.

“We did our due diligence on the property and have determined that land acquisition costs would exceed our identified budget,” Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said in a statement.

City council, he said, “remains committed to securing the appropriate site and getting this right.

“For H4 to be sustainable and effective, the city and council must strike a balance between providing robust support and maintaining fiscal prudence while continuing to advocate for significant funding from upper levels of government.

“In the meantime, we are proceeding with upgrades to the temporary site which will need to be open for the next few years while the work to locate a new site, gather funding, and undertake construction occurs.”

The city has been operating the H4 hub on a temporary basis at the former Windsor Water World (400 Wyandotte St. E.) since April 2020. There, people experiencing homelessness have access to services, community support agencies, basic medical care, food, restrooms, clothing, and spaces for rest.

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Council has made “significant investments” in the temporary H4 this year by “expanding hours, enhancing services, and increasing access,” Dilkens said. In May, council unanimously agreed to keep the hub open daily until midnight for an additional $1,470,340 as part of Windsor’s Strengthen the Core plan aimed at revitalizing the downtown.

Earlier this month, council voted to keep the hub open 24/7 this winter with the addition of a 35-space overnight warming centre. That initiative relies on additional funding from Ottawa’s Reaching Home program.

The city announced in April it had selected the Wellington site as the location for a permanent H4 after an extensive search in the core. Following council direction, city staff initially attempted to negotiate the property’s purchase, but that was unsuccessful. Then, the city moved to expropriate the land.

At the time, the city knew the site, which is zoned for industrial use, would need some level of clean-up before construction could begin on the project and people would be able to live there but it did not know how much.

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Located just off Wyandotte Street west of downtown, the site fulfilled several requirements for a permanent H4 location identified in a consultant’s report: located within a two-kilometre radius of the downtown core and along a major transit route; and it’s within walking distance to most core supports and services.

When that site was announced, the city said the property also held an “opportunity for community revitalization and economic redevelopment on a site that has been historically undeveloped.”

Council’s original Wellington location choice wasn’t unanimous, with opposition expressed over the cost, as well as the location about two kilometres from downtown social services.

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The 2022 report from consultant Glos Arch + Eng created a vision for a permanent hub that outlines a “welcoming and dignified” facility, one that meets basic needs, provides wrap-around supports, serves as a safe drop-in space, helps those on the verge of homelessness maintain housing, and has dozens of transitional and supportive housing units.

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The ideal lot for a permanent hub would be at least 40,000 square feet (not quite one acre), the report said. However, any lot under 80,000 square feet (1.8 acres) may not provide enough flexibility to meet clients’ needs, and wouldn’t be large enough for integrated outdoor space or expansion.

A lot of at least 100,000 square feet (2.3 acres), the report said, would fit all programs with flexibility, provide building security with public programming in one area and separate entrances for residents, have room for outdoor space and community programming, and accommodate future expansion.

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