Windsor’s core ‘winning the fight,’ councillor says

A ward meeting held on Tuesday night saw many residents raise concerns surrounding housing and homelessness, CTV Windsor’s Robert Lothian has the details.

Windsor’s first ward meeting, focused on the city’s core, was dominated by questions about the plan to address housing, addiction, and public safety.

Residents in Windsor’s Wards 2 and 3, as part of a merged meeting, weighed in on the state of their neighbourhoods.

“What I would like to see is more police presence. I want to see more police presence in this area,” said one resident.

Another resident acknowledged “little specks of hope” within the area but noted it’s not “consistent” enough.

With Ward 2 councillor-elect Frazier Fathers only voted in on Monday night, many of Tuesday’s questions were directed to Renaldo Agostino, the Ward 3 representative.

“We’re just in the second round, you know, like, there’s a lot to go, but we’re winning the fight,” Agostino said after the meeting.

He noted the city’s Strengthen the Core plan, introduced to help revitalize downtown, is showing progress, with more businesses showing a desire to move downtown.

“Today, people are understanding that this is something that’s much bigger than the municipality, much bigger than the City of Windsor, downtown Windsor,” Agostino said.

The focus over the next year, before the 2026 municipal elections, Agostino noted, is to tackle the “big monster” of increasing the core’s housing stock.

Agostino recently joined the Windsor-Essex Community Housing Corporation Board of Directors.

“I want to see more housing. I want to get these developments over the finish line,” he noted.

One development Agostino teased in his address that could see movement is the desire to build housing at a parking lot on Caron Avenue.

In May 2024, the city launched an expression of interest (EOI) for the property as part of a plan to entice developers with shovel-ready municipal land.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, who attended the ward meeting, confirmed talks for the property are progressing.

“Council has made a decision on Caron Avenue. Someone is working with the proponent to actually have the official announcement there,” Dilkens said.

“There’s lots of excitement, lots of interest, even though there’s a tariff war and there’s all sorts of uncertainty out there. We still see people and developers who are interested in developing, including in downtown.”

Both Dilkens and Agostino acknowledged they need more support from upper levels of government to continue addressing homelessness and addiction services.

The next ward meeting, for Ward 4,5, and 10, is set for Nov. 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Caboto Club.