Windsor council lifts Roseland heritage designation for club teardown

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With its heritage protection now lifted, the clubhouse at Roseland Golf Club should meet the wrecking ball by the end of the year, says Windsor’s mayor.

While several area residents agree the building one councillor described as “falling apart” must come down and be replaced, city council’s 8-3 decision to remove it and Roseland’s parking lot from Windsor’s heritage register brought tears and angry words from opponents.

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“Big-time betrayal,” Silvio Barresi told reporters outside council chambers on Monday. That morning, he presented a petition to council to retain heritage designation for the entire Roseland property.

When speaking before council, “I really did want to use that word (betrayal), but I thought it was a little too insulting. Now, I wish I would have used it, to tell you the truth.

“I wish I would have used it because it is insulting — we feel like we’ve been betrayed.”

Barresi said the clubhouse should be demolished and acknowledged it has no heritage value. But he believes the “land underneath it” received heritage designation in 2003 for a reason and should have retained its protected status.

City council’s decision to lift heritage designation from the 47-year-old clubhouse building and parking lot, neither of which have historically significant features, allows for a private residential development to proceed. It’s part of the city’s Housing Solutions Made for Windsor strategy to have housing built on several city-owned properties.

The historic golf course designed by renowned architect Donald J. Ross in 1926 and constructed in 1927 will retain its heritage designation, as will the added Par 3 “shorty” course, even though it’s not historic.

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According to a hired consultant’s report, Roseland’s clubhouse could be demolished with a simple heritage permit, one that would also require council’s endorsement. Council could have maintained heritage designation for the entire property and gone ahead with its housing plans, though separate heritage permits would be required to tear down the clubhouse, build a new clubhouse, and build housing on the property.

City staff recommended removing heritage designation from the clubhouse and the parking lot.

Plans to build 38 high-end condo units on Roseland property unveiled in March 2024 sparked immediate backlash from area residents, including Catherine Archer, who collected hundreds of signatures on a petition against the project. On Monday, she told council the entire area has history, and she urged councillors to leave the Roseland property’s heritage status alone.

“What is to stop this or a future council from seeing opportunities to convert the golf course to cash?” Archer asked.

She left council chambers in tears after the vote, walking past reporters for the city hall exit.

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“To say I am disappointed is an understatement, but I feel we gave it our best shot,” she wrote on social media that evening.

“This mayor/council will move on … but we will have to live with this historic decision for the rest of our lives, as will our children’s children.”

Voting to maintain heritage designation for the entire Roseland property were councillors Fred Francis (Ward 1), Fabio Costante (Ward 2) and Angelo Marignani (Ward 7).

Voting to remove designation were Mayor Drew Dilkens, councillors Renaldo Agostino (Ward 3), Mark McKenzie (Ward 4), Ed Sleiman (Ward 5), Jo-Anne Gignac (Ward 6), Gary Kaschak (Ward 8), Kieran McKenzie (Ward 9), and Jim Morrison (Ward 10).

“The building’s falling apart,” Kieran McKenzie said. “It’s in a state where if we don’t address some of the challenges, there’s going to have to be serious investments in that building — a building we know we need to take down.

“There’s urgency with respect to the timeline here. We have to move forward.”

Francis, who represents the neighbourhood and opposes residential development on Roseland property, said “a bad precedent” was being set in removing heritage designation from part of the land.

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“I don’t know what the future holds, but what I know is the people don’t want this, and I represent the people,” Francis said. “I’m not here to tell the people they’re wrong and I’m right, especially when I believe in what they’re doing and I believe in their arguments and I believe in their cause.”

After Monday’s meeting, Mayor Dilkens told reporters the clubhouse should be demolished by the end of this year after golf season wraps up.

“It’s basically not utilized today anymore, anyway, except for a couple of offices,” he said.

A new clubhouse will likely go up next year, Dilkens said. It could be built in conjunction with a housing development, but only if council agrees on a future housing development proposal.

“This is not about trying to shoehorn anything in,” he said. “There’s still many processes that have to happen, including a full rezoning process. We still have to see what comes back through the (expressions of interest) process.

“There’s lots of touchpoints still, and we’ll be very open and transparent as we always are, dealing with these issues.”

Also on Monday, and without debate, council approved a name change for Roseland, which has long been known as Roseland Golf and Curling Club Ltd. In light of the relocation of curling to Capri Pizza Recreation Complex last year, the city-owned company will now be Roseland Golf Club Ltd.

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