Moving forward: New City Hall to continue process without government tenant

By Justin Prince

City council is moving forward with the process of building a new city hall with or without the cooperation of Public Works and Government Services Canada.

According to Mayor Eddie Francis, the government agency was planning to lease part of the new building, but stopped negotiations before the city council meeting Jan. 20. The council decided to continue the process without the PWGSC. The new facility will now cost about $12 million less to build. If the PWGSC had agreed to lease the space, the project would have cost $47 million.

“The building was always projected to be built as a city building,” said Francis. “We only got involved with the Government of Canada when we knew there was an opportunity. That’s their decision. We’ll proceed on our own.”

The decision by the PWGSC was mainly influenced by the state of the Paul Martin Building on Ouellette Avenue. The proposal stated that the Canadian government would have to fix the building’s façade so it could be used by the University of Windsor’s Faculty of Law program. But they decided to sell the building as-is, because of the potential cost of repairs. The Paul Martin Building is currently designated by the Windsor Historical Society. That designation would come into effect once the building is sold, and means any potential buyer would have to fix the façade themselves.

“No deal had ever been reached with the City of Windsor regarding the building’s future,” said the PWGSC in a statement. “Due to a decrease in federal office requirements in Windsor, the Paul Martin Building has been declared surplus … The city as well as any other supplier can place a tender on the building.”

The PWGSC also said in the statement it would be looking for a possible lease agreement for its services currently inside the building, but not in the new city hall.

“It would have been nice in terms of having a tenant in the building and helping pay for the costs,” said Ward 6 Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac. “But it’s not essential.”

Bill Marra, councillor for Ward 8, agreed that sharing the new building with the PWGSC wasn’t essential but said the decision will make it less convenient for Windsorites who require their services.

“It would have benefited the citizens of this community to have all government services in one building,” said Marra. “But we need to go ahead. We have some very serious problems in (the current) building, and if we attempt to start repairing them, we’re going to have to spend millions of dollars.”

The proposed site for the building is adjacent to the current location at 350 City Hall Sq., or the site of the main parking lot. Once the new city hall is completed in 2017, the current facility will be demolished.

“I think city council has had the opportunity in the ensuing years to look at the reality of the challenges this building presents,” said Gignac. “The determination to move forward with a more efficient building has been made.”

The discussions about the building will continue Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. during a special council meeting.