Downtown Windsor Revitalization Offers Lesson for Jax
Downtown revitalization efforts aren't just for United States cities. Canadian cities have worked hard to promote vibrancy in their own urban cores as well. Today, we take a visual tour of City Centre Windsor and ponder if there are applicable lessons for Jacksonville.
Last week, Jacksonville's Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) CEO Aundra Wallace presented the Community Redevelopment Area and Business Improvement District to Downtown Vision (DVI). It's Jacksonville's latest attempt at fixing downtown, an ongoing process that's already spanned over six decades. While it's been a long road for Jacksonville, it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. Today, we take a brief visual tour of a Canadian city that's transformed its heart in less than half the time: Windsor, Ontario.
Known as "The City of Roses," Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada that is separated from Detroit, its northern neighbor, by the Detroit River. Windsor was established in 1854, the year the village was connected to the rest of Canada by the Grand Trunk Railway/Canadian National Railway. That same year, the Canadian Reciprocity Treaty (free trade) with the U.S. passed, doubling trade immediately, making the border city an important international railroad hub. During the majority of the 20th century, Windsor's City Centre's riverfront was dominated by industry and railyards. In fact, GTW operated rail-barge service across the Detroit River between Windsor and Detroit as late as 1975.
Windsor, Ontario is located just south of Detroit, Michigan.
Like many cities, City Centre Windsor went through a period of decline in the late 20th century as automobile ownership and suburbs grew. Similar to Jacksonville, the city's 1959 plan dealt with blight and parking issues through the demolition of entire city blocks.
In the mid-1990s, the Windsor City Centre Revitalization and Design Study was commissioned to provide a strategy to bring new life and development in the struggling downtown. Change has been clearly evident over the last few decades. Parks featuring miles of bike trails, greenery, and pedestrian paths have replaced riverfront railyards. A casino opened in the late 1990s, followed by Chrysler Canada's headquarters in 2004, a Sports Arena in 2009, and an Aquatic Centre in 2013. It's also home to electric charging stations, free downtown Wi-Fi, and several storefronts have been put back to use with the help of a commercial rent subsidy program.
Another major coup was the city selling its City Centre auditorium and exhibition center, the Cleary Auditorium, to St. Clair College of Applied Arts & Technology for $1, while providing $3 million in incentives. Still accommodating meetings and events, the urban school has brought 800 students and 40 faculty members to City Centre. City Centre nightlife is boosted by young Americans coming over to drink because of the lower (19 years old) drinking age.
Being a downtown Jacksonville employee and advocate myself, one thing that stands out while walking around the streets of City Centre is the cleanliness. While we'll never be able to set ourselves a part from the competition by lowering the drinking age, placing a special emphasis on making sure our parks and streets are pristine is an easy to do action worth immediately investing in.
Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis Davis at edavis@moderncities.com
Next Page: City Centre Windsor Photo Tour
Map of City Centre Windsor
Ouellette Avenue
Ouellette Avenue is the historic main commercial street in downtown Windsor. It runs north-south, perpendicular to the Detroit River, and divides the city into east and west sections.
Windsor's economy is primarily based on manufacturing, tourism, education, and government services. One Riverside Drive is the home to Chrysler's Canada Headquarters. The city is one of Canada's major automobile manufacturing centres. Automotive facilities include a Chrysler minivan assembly plant, two Ford Motor Company engine plants, and several tool and die and automotive parts manufacturers.
Chatham Street
Caesars Windsor
Owned by the government of the province of Ontario (through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation), it is operated by Caesars Entertainment. Caesars Windsor, which attracts about six million visitors annually, opened in the late 1990s.
Riverside Drive
Riverside Drive once separated City Centre Windsor from the industrial rail-based riverfront.
In 2007, St. Clair College opened a satellite campus in downtown Windsor in the former Cleary International Centre. In April 2010, St. Clair College added to its downtown Windsor presence with the addition of its MediaPlex school. Together, they bring over one thousand students into the downtown core every day. The college also opened the TD Student Centre on the corner of Victoria Avenue and University Avenue in 2012.
Windsor is the headquarters of Hiram Walker & Sons Limited, now owned by Pernod Ricard. Its historic distillery was founded by Hiram Walker in 1858 in what was then Walkerville, Ontario, just north of City Centre Windsor. The Windsor railway station, the western terminus of Via Rail's Quebec City-Windsor Corridor, is located in the midst of the Hiram Walker Distillery. The station is served by eight Via trains daily originating in Toronto.
Detroit Riverfront
Windsor's Department of Parks and Recreation maintains 3,000 acres of green space, 180 parks, 40 miles of trails, 22 miles of sidewalk, 60 parking lots, vacant lands, natural areas and forest cover within the city of Windsor. The collection of parks that make up "Riverside Park" have incrementally replaced aging riverfront rail yards. The Roy A. Battagello River Walk Bike Trail is the current backbone of the "Windsor Loop" bike trail network. Of the parks lining Windsor's waterfront, the largest stretches 3.1 miles overlooking the Detroit skyline. It extends from the Ambassador Bridge to Hiram Walker's Canadian Club distillery.
Canadian National Railway Ferry Levelling Ramps are former decks for loading railroad cars onto ferries, to cross the river to Detroit.
The Spirit of Windsor, a Pacific Type 4-6-2 Steam Locomotive. Its Engine number is #5588 and stands where the train station used to be.
"The Bistro" opened in summer 2007.
Dieppe Gardens
Via Italia
Little Italy, or "Via Italia", as it is affectionately called is home to many Italian families and businesses and a popular City Centre destination. It is known for its restaurants and clothing boutiques. It is situated along Erie Street, from Moy Avenue in the east to Goyeau Avenue to the west.
Tale of the Tape:
Windsor Population 2011: 210,891 (City); 319,246 (Metro) - (incorporated in 1854)
Jacksonville Pop. 2013: 842,583 (City); 1,394,624 (Metro) - (incorporated in 1832)
City population 1950: Jacksonville (204,517); Windsor (120,049 in 1951)
City Land Area
Windsor: 56.72 square miles
Jacksonville: 747.0 square miles
Convention Center Exhibition Space:
Windsor: Caesars Windsor (yb. 2008) - 100,000 square feet
Jacksonville: Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center (1986) - 78,500 square feet
Adjacent to Convention Center:
Windsor: Caesars Windsor Forum Tower (389 units) & Augustus Tower (369 units)
Jacksonville: N/A
Tallest Building:
Windsor: Caesars Windsor Augustus Tower - 364 feet
Jacksonville: Bank of America Tower - 617 feet
Downtown Nightlife:
Windsor: Ouellette Avenue, Chatham Street
Jacksonville: The Elbow
Common Downtown Albatross:
An abundance of surface parking lots
Who's Downtown is more walkable?
Windsor: 81 out of 100, according to walkscore.com
Jacksonville: 73 out of 100, according to walkscore.com
Article and photographs by Ennis Davis, AICP
Known as "The City of Roses," Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada that is separated from Detroit, its northern neighbor, by the Detroit River. Windsor was established in 1854, the year the village was connected to the rest of Canada by the Grand Trunk Railway/Canadian National Railway. That same year, the Canadian Reciprocity Treaty (free trade) with the U.S. passed, doubling trade immediately, making the border city an important international railroad hub. During the majority of the 20th century, Windsor's City Centre's riverfront was dominated by industry and railyards. In fact, GTW operated rail-barge service across the Detroit River between Windsor and Detroit as late as 1975.
Windsor, Ontario is located just south of Detroit, Michigan.
Like many cities, City Centre Windsor went through a period of decline in the late 20th century as automobile ownership and suburbs grew. Similar to Jacksonville, the city's 1959 plan dealt with blight and parking issues through the demolition of entire city blocks.
In the mid-1990s, the Windsor City Centre Revitalization and Design Study was commissioned to provide a strategy to bring new life and development in the struggling downtown. Change has been clearly evident over the last few decades. Parks featuring miles of bike trails, greenery, and pedestrian paths have replaced riverfront railyards. A casino opened in the late 1990s, followed by Chrysler Canada's headquarters in 2004, a Sports Arena in 2009, and an Aquatic Centre in 2013. It's also home to electric charging stations, free downtown Wi-Fi, and several storefronts have been put back to use with the help of a commercial rent subsidy program.
Another major coup was the city selling its City Centre auditorium and exhibition center, the Cleary Auditorium, to St. Clair College of Applied Arts & Technology for $1, while providing $3 million in incentives. Still accommodating meetings and events, the urban school has brought 800 students and 40 faculty members to City Centre. City Centre nightlife is boosted by young Americans coming over to drink because of the lower (19 years old) drinking age.
Being a downtown Jacksonville employee and advocate myself, one thing that stands out while walking around the streets of City Centre is the cleanliness. While we'll never be able to set ourselves a part from the competition by lowering the drinking age, placing a special emphasis on making sure our parks and streets are pristine is an easy to do action worth immediately investing in.
Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis Davis at edavis@moderncities.com
Next Page: City Centre Windsor Photo Tour
Map of City Centre Windsor
Ouellette Avenue
Ouellette Avenue is the historic main commercial street in downtown Windsor. It runs north-south, perpendicular to the Detroit River, and divides the city into east and west sections.
Windsor's economy is primarily based on manufacturing, tourism, education, and government services. One Riverside Drive is the home to Chrysler's Canada Headquarters. The city is one of Canada's major automobile manufacturing centres. Automotive facilities include a Chrysler minivan assembly plant, two Ford Motor Company engine plants, and several tool and die and automotive parts manufacturers.
Chatham Street
Quote
Windsor has often been the place where many metro Detroiters find what is forbidden in the United States. With a minimum legal drinking age of 21 in Michigan and 19 in Ontario, a number of 19 and 20-year-old Americans frequent Windsor's bars. The city also became a gambling attraction with Caesars Windsor's opening in 1994, five years before casinos opened in Detroit. In addition, one can purchase Cuban cigars, Cuban rum, less-costly prescription drugs, absinthe, certain imported foods, and other items not available in the United States. In addition, many same-sex couples from the United States have chosen to marry in Windsor, which is illegal in Michigan and most parts of the United States, but is legal in Canada.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor,_Ontario
Caesars Windsor
Owned by the government of the province of Ontario (through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation), it is operated by Caesars Entertainment. Caesars Windsor, which attracts about six million visitors annually, opened in the late 1990s.
Riverside Drive
Riverside Drive once separated City Centre Windsor from the industrial rail-based riverfront.
In 2007, St. Clair College opened a satellite campus in downtown Windsor in the former Cleary International Centre. In April 2010, St. Clair College added to its downtown Windsor presence with the addition of its MediaPlex school. Together, they bring over one thousand students into the downtown core every day. The college also opened the TD Student Centre on the corner of Victoria Avenue and University Avenue in 2012.
Windsor is the headquarters of Hiram Walker & Sons Limited, now owned by Pernod Ricard. Its historic distillery was founded by Hiram Walker in 1858 in what was then Walkerville, Ontario, just north of City Centre Windsor. The Windsor railway station, the western terminus of Via Rail's Quebec City-Windsor Corridor, is located in the midst of the Hiram Walker Distillery. The station is served by eight Via trains daily originating in Toronto.
Detroit Riverfront
Windsor's Department of Parks and Recreation maintains 3,000 acres of green space, 180 parks, 40 miles of trails, 22 miles of sidewalk, 60 parking lots, vacant lands, natural areas and forest cover within the city of Windsor. The collection of parks that make up "Riverside Park" have incrementally replaced aging riverfront rail yards. The Roy A. Battagello River Walk Bike Trail is the current backbone of the "Windsor Loop" bike trail network. Of the parks lining Windsor's waterfront, the largest stretches 3.1 miles overlooking the Detroit skyline. It extends from the Ambassador Bridge to Hiram Walker's Canadian Club distillery.
Canadian National Railway Ferry Levelling Ramps are former decks for loading railroad cars onto ferries, to cross the river to Detroit.
The Spirit of Windsor, a Pacific Type 4-6-2 Steam Locomotive. Its Engine number is #5588 and stands where the train station used to be.
"The Bistro" opened in summer 2007.
Dieppe Gardens
Via Italia
Little Italy, or "Via Italia", as it is affectionately called is home to many Italian families and businesses and a popular City Centre destination. It is known for its restaurants and clothing boutiques. It is situated along Erie Street, from Moy Avenue in the east to Goyeau Avenue to the west.
Tale of the Tape:
Windsor Population 2011: 210,891 (City); 319,246 (Metro) - (incorporated in 1854)
Jacksonville Pop. 2013: 842,583 (City); 1,394,624 (Metro) - (incorporated in 1832)
City population 1950: Jacksonville (204,517); Windsor (120,049 in 1951)
City Land Area
Windsor: 56.72 square miles
Jacksonville: 747.0 square miles
Convention Center Exhibition Space:
Windsor: Caesars Windsor (yb. 2008) - 100,000 square feet
Jacksonville: Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center (1986) - 78,500 square feet
Adjacent to Convention Center:
Windsor: Caesars Windsor Forum Tower (389 units) & Augustus Tower (369 units)
Jacksonville: N/A
Tallest Building:
Windsor: Caesars Windsor Augustus Tower - 364 feet
Jacksonville: Bank of America Tower - 617 feet
Downtown Nightlife:
Windsor: Ouellette Avenue, Chatham Street
Jacksonville: The Elbow
Common Downtown Albatross:
An abundance of surface parking lots
Who's Downtown is more walkable?
Windsor: 81 out of 100, according to walkscore.com
Jacksonville: 73 out of 100, according to walkscore.com
Article and photographs by Ennis Davis, AICP