Strengthen The Core - Downtown Windsor Revitalization Plan

Create and implement a strong enforcement-focused strategy to support safer streets.

Launch a new ‘Made-in-Windsor’ police enforcement model focused on sustained high visibility and collaborative cross-sectoral response. Under this new model, Windsor Police Service will utilize all resources and approaches to promote lawful behaviour, and to disrupt and intervene in open drug use, property damage, petty crime, and disorderly conduct in the downtown core.

This new Policing and Enforcement Model will include:

• Expand the Windsor Police Service City Centre Patrol Team (CCPT) by an additional 12 sworn officers. The CCPT will continue to operate inside their designated geographic area but under their own designated command to allow for enhanced focus and to improve resource allotment in the downtown.
• Assign a Crime Analyst to the CCPT to appropriately collect information and data which will drive both daily and strategic planning decisions to assist in directing resources when and where most needed. (i.e. prime shopping and entertainment times, evening establishment closing times, and larger event coverage).
• Appoint a Community Liaison Officer at a supervisory level to provide effective communication with stakeholders and facilitate regular community engagement.
• Implement a team approach between the CCPT, Neighbourhood Officer Program, the Problem Oriented Policing Unit, Windsor’s By-Law officers and 311, and other enforcement entities (i.e. AGCO, Windsor Fire & Rescue, Essex- Windsor Emergency Medical Services, etc.) to facilitate better communication, and to address crime, disorder, and quality of life issues.
• Expand and provide additional resources within the Nurse Police Team, Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team, and the Patrol Outreach Team, under the purview of CCPT. This coordination will provide the required daily services to the impacted population to minimize negative impacts on residents and businesses, while reducing the stress on health care facilities in the core.
• Implement Windsor’s Project SafeStreets Pilot. Launched in August 2023 with four live cameras installed at private businesses in the downtown core. Partnership between business owners, the DWBIA, and ACS Security. Since its inception, partners have found a significant reduction in crime in the pilot project areas. As a result of real-time information, WPS has been able to react quickly to situations in traditionally unmonitored areas. They have found that the cameras offered a much-needed opportunity to provide immediate assistance to people who are in crisis and in need of emergency care.
• Dispatch a mobile lighting and camera unit to be deployed in known problem areas, to deter repeat criminal activity and its disruption on residents and business owners.
• Utilize 311 to improve the manner in which residents receive information and assistance, with 311 staff assisting community members in understanding available supports for individuals who are unhoused or experiencing a mental health and/or addictions crisis.
• Install additional security lighting in alleys, and in dark areas throughout downtown to deter criminal activity.
• Discourage loitering on medians and in front of empty storefronts and residential buildings in the downtown core.
• Increase the number of Auxiliary Police within parks and trains in the core.
• Relocate city benches away from vacant storefronts and buildings to discourage loitering and public intoxication.

Increase enforcement of property standards and fill vacant buildings.

• Appoint a dedicated Ward 3 By-Law Property Standards Enforcement Officer to lead enforcement in the downtown core and surrounding area.
• Engage all relevant City of Windsor departmental teams to create or modify existing by-laws to better encourage, through education and enforcement, maintenance of vacant commercial, residential buildings, and their lands.
• Increase engagement with the Downtown Windsor Enhancement Strategy and Community Improvement plan to encourage the maintenance and updating of vacant residences and buildings (i.e. façade improvements, space conversion, etc.).
• Review current CIP programs to provide additional financial incentives to existing and prospective downtown business owners/operators to update properties over the short-term (18 months).
• Increase financial penalties for unkept properties.
• Proactively contact landlords and property owners to inform them of available incentives to develop and activate their properties.
• Expand definition of “safety” to look at impact of buildings that are not at an adequate standard.
• Support enforcement of City by-laws relating to maintaining property standards (i.e. replacing broken windows, landscaping, or other property elements when there is non-compliance.
• Explore the possibility of making a public list of properties that have orders against them.
• Work with utility companies more effectively to identify vacant buildings and to ensure utilities are turned on.
• Make the City grant application process easier and approval time quicker.
• Enhance City-owned properties located in the core (i.e. parking garages, parkettes, etc.).
• Increase the amount of garbage receptacles that deter rummaging, and improve the frequency of garbage collection in the core.
• Discourage loitering and panhandling on medians in the downtown core.

Lobby upper levels of government to support wrap-around relief programs for vulnerable community members.

• Advocate to the federal and provincial governments for the funding required to implement and expand social service initiatives based on each government’s area of responsibility and priorities, recognizing that municipal governments do not have the fiscal capacity to solve the challenges alone.
• Bring together local health leaders to determine the best approach to secure provincial funding for a low-barrier, transitional care facility where individuals experiencing an immediate mental health and/or addictions crisis can be provided with care tailored to their needs.
• Advocate for long-term provincial funding for Windsor Police Service and Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare to help extend the M.C.R.R.T. and MHART programs.
• Advocate for long-term provincial funding for Windsor Police Service and Windsor Regional Hospital to help make the Nurse and Police Team pilot project permanent and to extend its hours of operations.
• Extend H4 hours of operation to ensure people who are unhoused have a facility they can access prior to the opening of overnight shelters.
• Evaluate whether barriers exist for people experiencing homelessness to access H4 in its interim state, and work to minimize any identified barriers where possible.
• Continue work to implement strategies in the Home Together: Windsor Essex 10 Year Housing and Homelessness Master Plan.

Encourage people and businesses to locate downtown.

• Explore additional housing options downtown through the Housing Solutions Made for Windsor plan.
• Increase awareness and engagement with existing CIPs that have been established to support growth in the downtown core.
• As part of the current CIP and incentives review, identify additional and refine existing policy and financial incentives to encourage developers to build downtown and/or to convert existing buildings into residential units.
• Support the Downtown Windsor BIA in their efforts to attract new businesses and anchor tenants downtown (i.e. grocery stores and restaurants).
• Encourage employment opportunities downtown to create foot traffic.

Create vibrancy by attracting and engaging residents and visitors.

• Collaborate with partners like the Downtown Windsor BIA to facilitate partnership opportunities for existing and new events to encourage post- event spillover into downtown businesses.
• Simplify the City Hall event approval process and assess all event-related fees to help attract more event operators.
• Investigate options to enhance/improve existing event venues to attract a diverse range of events and activations, and to maximize event attendance.
• Continue making improvements to streetscaping and add decorative lighting to create a more welcoming atmosphere and provide additional visibility and a greater sense of safety downtown.
• Work with the DWBIA and existing landlords to stimulate activation of currently vacant commercial spaces (i.e. Pop-up stores and events), and to promote existing events and activities that draw residents downtown.
• Continue moving forward on Council endorsed projects including Festival Plaza, Civic Esplanade, Legacy Beacon, and City Hall ice rink.

Enhance community engagement and implement a marketing strategy to celebrate and promote the core.

• Work collaboratively with Tourism Windsor Essex and the Downtown Windsor BIA to create and launch a marketing campaign - ‘Our Downtown’ - aimed at sharing the positive stories and highlighting the successes of the downtown core, in the words and from the mouths of downtown community stakeholders.
• Profile businesses, business owners, landlords and residents in and from downtown.
• Build on existing community engagement with downtown stakeholders and community members to make the downtown streetscape feel more welcoming and safer.

Convene a table designed to improve collaboration, trust-building, and open communication between mental health and addictions service provider leadership, and all relevant stakeholders.

The table would:

• Identify opportunities to enhance information sharing, address gaps, and limit duplication in services, increase efficiencies, and allocate resources effectively.
• Strengthen coordination between City staff, its partners, and regional leadership via the City‘s community safety and well-being infrastructure.
• Identify opportunities to improve City processes and reduce red tape to allow delivery partners to operate effectively.
• Create public and transparent goals and a process for ongoing evaluation.
• Expand programs to meet client needs.

• April 23, 2024 – Mayor Dilkens launched Strengthen the Core: Downtown Windsor Revitalization Plan.
• April 27, 2024 – City of Windsor and downtown stakeholders show what is possible with Windsor’s NFL Draft Party hosted in the core.
• May 13, 2024 – City Council unanimously endorses the $3.2M Strengthen the Core plan.
• May 15, 2024 – Windsor Police Service welcomes 41 new members to the Auxiliary Patrol Service of the WPS.
• May 21, 2024 – City launches recruitment for a Senior Economic Development Officer to oversee implementation of Strengthen the Core, and work to integrate the plan’s 7 initial action items into a cohesive framework.
• May 29, 2024 – Windsor Police Service, Windsor Regional Hospital and Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare announce expansion of the Nurse Police Team to 7 days per week to support those struggling with substance use and related challenges; and the Crisis Response Team pairing frontline police officers with social workers to better support individuals in mental health crisis, with hours expanded to 7 days per week, from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. to provide overlap coverage during peak hours and reduce the number of calls to which patrol units must respond.
• May 31, 2024 – Housing Solutions Made for Windsor launches Caron Avenue Site Expression of Interest (EOI), and two additional sites for development – former Grace Hospital Site, and the former Windsor Arena – with all three announcements representing development for prime downtown Windsor sites.
• June 3, 2024 – Development and Heritage Standing Committee approves proposed 16-storey, 88-unit residential development planned for Chatham Street and Caron Avenue.
• June 7, 2024 – Adventure Bay Family Water Park announces expansion of hours at the park, increasing access to the downtown community amenity.
• June 11, 2024 – City launches new Vacant Home Tax program to help increase housing supply and create more vibrant neighbourhoods across the city, including in the downtown core.
• June 11, 2024 – Council approves construction of the new City Hall Square Outdoor Ice Rink and gathering space, as part of the Civic Esplanade project, to create a versatile, year-round space for public events, announcements, and concession opportunities in the heart of downtown.
• June 17, 2024 – Windsor Police Service begins pilot of innovative local tech to provide real-time information on the location of WPS officers, and supply deployment of officers, adding in another layer of connectivity and bolstering community safety.
• June 18, 2024 – City Council endorsed and supported an expansion of hours at the City’s Homelessness and Housing Help Hub (H4) from 8:00 a.m. to midnight, seven days per week, including holidays; and expanded amenities offered at the site in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association – Windsor-Essex County Branch, Housing Information Services, and many community stakeholder groups.
• June 25, 2024 – City hires a new dedicated By-law Property Standards Enforcement Lead in the downtown core and surrounding area.
• July 29, 2024 – City hires a new Senior Economic Development Officer to oversee implementation of Strengthen the Core, and work to integrate the plan’s 7 initial action items into a cohesive framework.
• July 21, 2024 – City moves historic Streetcar No. 351 out of storage and to its permanent home at the riverfront Legacy Park, as part of the process to create a new waterfront beacon and gathering/event space downtown.
• September 27, 2024 – City, in partnership with Downtown Windsor BIA, installs sections of decorative lighting along Ouellette Avenue in the downtown core.
• September 28, 2024 – As part of the “Fall in Love With Downtown Windsor” weekend, the City announces plans to name and theme the parking levels of the Pelissier Street Parking Garage after famous composers, in partnership with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, and launches a public call for artists to create two new murals for the main level interior spaces of the garage.
• October 18, 2024 – City, in partnership with the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association, Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel, AM800 CKLW, and local businesses and stakeholders in the city’s downtown core, hosts three Canadian cheer zones to “Line the Drive” for the international half marathon, bringing the excitement of the Detroit Free Press Marathon to Windsor.
• November 5, 2024 – Housing Solutions Made for Windsor launches Pelissier Street Parking Lot Expression of Interest (EOI). The EOI closes January 28, 2025.
• November 26, 2024 – Dillon Consulting Ltd., a strong City partner, opens its new downtown offices, investing in the future of downtown Windsor that Strengthen the Core is working to help create and sustain.

• Windsor Police Service
• Downtown Windsor BIA
• Invest Windsor-Essex
• Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre
• Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island
• St. Clair College
• University of Windsor
• Windsor Regional Hospital
• Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare
• The Downtown Mission
• Welcome Centre for Women & Families
• Salvation Army Windsor – Centre of Hope
• Art Windsor-Essex – AWE
• The Capitol Theatre
• Windsor International Film Festival – WIFF
• Windsor Symphony Orchestra
• Family Services Windsor-Essex
• Canadian Mental Health Association