Windsor talk

[north 42]

I love that sign, I grew up only a couple blocks away from that plaza. I was so happy when I found out that it was being restored and put on the heritage list. At least part of my childhood is still around!

[Symz]

Some interesting reading about downtown

http://windsorite.ca/2011/12/netmon-...ampus-growing/

Netmon, a Windsor-based networking and environmental monitoring firm that moved to join other tech-centric businesses in Windsor’s downtown core, has had their exterior signage erected recently.

The tech firm which provides sensors and networking solutions to major clients moved from its Rhodes Drive location to Downtown back in September to accomodate additional employees.

Netmon’s technology will be utilized at next summer’s Olympics in London England to provide crucial sensor applications to remotely monitor buildings and notify Olympics personnel.

Netmon occupies an 8000 square foot office floor at the southwest corner of Ouellette and Wyandotte and contributes to a growing campus of technology firms and organizations downtown including Blab! Media, the WEtech Alliance, TellBob, EmployerRegistry, Team My Mobile and others.

[north 42]

It's great to see a high-tech hub emerging downtown. Hopefully it will continue to grow and add more firms and employees in the years to come. The core will be transformed with all the changes taking place in the coming years.

[Symz]

Here's an interesting blog entry from another website.

source
http://www.windsorontarionews.com

Planning principles defeat businesses

The news that the Palace Cinemas will close in January is heartbreaking because it’s the last commercial movie theatre downtown. Anyone who cares about downtown as an entertainment venue should at least be a little concerned. Sure, progress is progress. And The Windsor Star’s move into the Ouellette Ave. building is part of a giant effort to redevelop the downtown. (The Star will vacate its current digs for University of Windsor classrooms.) And no doubt the Palace’s landlord, Mady Development Corp., will do much better financially from its new tenant. You can’t blame a businessman for opting for improved long term income from what had previously been a weak property. But what has been interesting beyond the immediate closure of the Palace is the effect of urban planning on the downtown theatre. Palace manager Gina Facca said that when Imagine Cinemas took over the property weekly attendance was at 1800. Then the city embarked on major streetscaping. This included new sidewalks, lampposts and “street furniture” like benches and trash cans. Once completed the design was lambasted by downtown merchants for the gray or bland colour. City planning officials defended it as providing a gray landscape to highlight the colourful facades of the businesses. Former city planner Jim Yanchula (now with the City of London) said the gray “palette” was meant to be “neutral” so individual storefronts could “stand out colourfully in it.” The downtown business association derided the effort, and ironically had to spend its own money to partially counter it. “On top of the money that we spent to partner in streetscaping we have to also now contribute more money to brighten the street up,” former BIA director Chris Edwards told WON.com. Now Facca’s comment is probably indicative of other businesses that lost money under a project that, to add insult to injury, took longer than expected. “We did a profitable business up until that whole streetscaping fiasco happened,” she said. “And then the foot traffic just wasn’t there and it was too difficult to get to the Palace.” The city spent nearly $5 million on this project. Yet it effectively crippled if not killed a major business. So it begs the question: how useful are these urban renewal projects? What also comes to mind is the 20-year-old Sandwich St. rejuvenation in west Windsor. It was done to spark businesses in the perennially depressed neighbourhood. But in the aftermath little has changed. A few bars have opened but other stores have come and gone. Arguably the same would have occurred without the investment. These kinds of projects are examples of modern planning principles that don’t seem to work and in fact might do more harm than good, using businesses' tax money, of course, against their own interests.

[north 42]

That article is crap, the Palace theatre was so old and dirty, that people just didn't want to go in there any more. I was one of those people. I live right down the street and still drove to other theatres to see a movie.

What we need is a new theatre to be built in the core, something new, modern and clean. Hopefully in time someone will do just that. You can't blame streetscaping for it's demise, it probably just helped to speed up the inevetible.

[Symz]

My impression of that theatre was that it was not really getting alot of patronage over the years. I'm not going to miss it.

[north 42]

I won't miss it , but I will miss being able to see a movie downtown. I remember when we had 3 movie theatres downtown, soon we won't have any at all.

[Symz]

I wish the city or someone would do more to get the Capital theatre up and running more frequently. I miss seeing all the lights under the canopy lit up, it helped to make University feel lively.

[north 42]

Yeah, it was great to see the area filled with people when the Windsor Film Festival was on. Too bad it takes something like the festival to bring life to some parts of the downtown.

[Symz]

The Yorktown sign, redone and lit up again.



source:
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2011/12...es-once-again/

source:
www.windsorstar.com

[bolognium]

That sign looks amazing. Really shows how crappy today's fluorescent signage is when compared to neon.

[Symz]

Originally Posted by bolognium

That sign looks amazing. Really shows how crappy today's fluorescent signage is when compared to neon.

This sign is on the city's heritage list, so it can never be torn down.

I'm glad to see the plaza owner decided to restore it instead of putting a new fluorescent sign next to it. He said it costed a little more, but felt it was worth it.

[Symz]

City reaches tentative agreement on Aquatic Centre

source:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windso...ouncement.html

The City of Windsor and the contractor chosen to build an aquatic centre downtown have reached what's described as a tentative deal to proceed with the project.

CBC News has learned the finishing touches on an agreement came during discussions on the weekend.

Monday afternoon, Mayor Eddie Francis will hold a news conference to discuss what's in the deal. The contractor, Ellis Don-DeAngelis, will be on hand to answer questions about the project.

The mayor and city administrators began discussions with the company right after its bid envelope was opened 10 days ago. Ellis Don-DeAngelis had the lowest tender, but it was higher than the city's original estimate.

Negotiations have centred on bringing the cost down, without jeopardizing the desired features in the aquatic centre.

Downtown councillor Fulvio Valentinis says he's looking forward to building a new "asset" in the city's core.

Valentinis says the project must be done right to attract tourists, downtown residents, swim meets and other investors.

"It's just another added tool that we now have to attract people to either live here, to come and locate here, to work here. It makes our community much more rounded and that much more attractive."

City council is scheduled to meet Thursday night to give final approval.

Construction should begin next month.

[Symz]

Here are some random photos from a short drive today. Most of the pictures I took were of construction sites, but since these weren't I'll tuck them in this thread.





randoms of the casino from 2 weeks ago

[Symz]

In the summer some art students did a little project where they wrote out large words in a parking lot downtown in the hopes that if Google updated their images for the city the message would be seen. It turns out that their plan worked! I thought it was kind of neat.

This parking lot is about to go bye bye in a month due to a large complex being built there so I think it's neat they managed to pull it off in time.

The message says 'AS OF 2011 09 21 WE ARE ALIVE & WELL'

[Blitz]

Nice! Still waiting for Google to update Streetview. They came back to redo the city last year but still haven't posted the new imagery. We're stuck with looking at the effects of the city workers strike and the 3 foot long grass in the parks.

[Symz]

Hi guys I thought I'd make a stop in here and wish my fellow Windsorites a merry Christmas. Stories of dowtown development have died down right now especially in the wake of the police department! Hopefully well see more stories we like after Christmas.

It will be an exciting year for Windsor.

[Symz]

Here's an interesting video I stumbled across talking about a burger place in Windsor called Motor Burger on Erie street. (I know, a hamburger joint on Erie street?)

It shows Windsor a bit as well as talks about their business.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=2MpmCHya9BM" target="_blank">Video Link

source where I found the video:
http://windsorite.ca/2011/12/motorbu...windsor-essex/

[Blitz]

I love Motor Burger!

[north 42]

I love Motor Burger too, it's good to see Erie St. diversifying it's restaurant stock from just Italian.