The City of Windsor has initiated the process to expropriate 45 properties in Olde Sandwich Towne.
The boarded-up homes and vacant land on Indian Road, Edison Street, Bloomfield Road and others are owned by a number of different companies associated with the owners of the Ambassador Bridge.
The decision to expropriate the land was made during an in-camera council meeting on July 27, 2026.
The application for expropriation states it’s "for the municipal purpose of the economic, social and environmental well-being of the municipality, including neighbourhood stabilization, housing renewal, public safety and community revitalization, in accordance with the Olde Sandwich Towne Community Improvement Plan."
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens indicated the city has been negotiating with the landowners since 2017, and even felt they were coming close to a deal recently, but talks have since broken down.
"After the Chief Building Official told me he's issued 17 more orders to demolish properties where the roof was caving in, where they were a community safety issue, I went to City Council and said now's the time. We have to act," said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.
To date, the City of Windsor has spent around $3 million in legal and professional fees on negotiations.
"We've tried in good faith to work through a process where we come to a conclusion and resolve all matters; we've been unable to do that," said Dilkens.
Dilkens indicated they are still willing to negotiate with the owners moving forward.
The City has issued a notice of intent to expropriate to all land owners. A public notice will be published in this weekend's newspaper.
Landowners will then have 30 days to ask for a 'hearing of necessity'. If requested, that hearing would go before the Ontario Land Tribunal.
While expropriating the land will cost the city upfront, the goal is to resell the property to residential developers to increase housing stock.
"Our goal is to actually put this back into active use, and so this will be a transaction where we think money will go out and then there will be revenue coming in once we sell the land and give it to developers to actually build more housing," said Dilkens.
