After Windsor City Council unanimously voted to move ahead with a residential and retail complex by Fairmount Properties, Mayor Drew Dilkens is assuring the public a proposal by Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare for the old Grace Hospital site is not dead.
The hospital, partnered with Amico Infrastructure, proposed a mixed-use residential complex geared to seniors. The 650-unit condo and townhouse development would include health services within the complex.
When it was announced last year, proponents touted it as a coming full-circle for the site.
Dilkens said the proposal submitted to the city provided "impeccable detail and thoughtful vision," and the city is actively looking for another site to locate the project.
"City council asked the administration to work with Hotel-Dieu to determine if their proposal could fit into any other municipally-owned lands elsewhere in the City of Windsor," he said. "The bilateral discussions are only just beginning in earnest this week."
Any final site selection will have to go to city council for approval.
"I'm optimistic that bilateral discussions with the City of Windsor will lead to a second successful development proposal in due course," said Dilkens. "And if those discussions work out, then Windsor residents will be getting a two-for-one deal."
The province is embarking on a review of long-term care as a result of major problems uncovered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dilkens said proponents of the Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare project have acknowledged that the review's conclusion may mean significant changes to their proposal.
