Council approves spending millions to upgrade H4 site in downtown Windsor
The City of Windsor is going to spend millions to upgrade its Housing and Homelessness Help Hub, or H4.
City council voted during an in-camera session on Monday to fill in the pool to create more space in the former Windsor Water World building on Wyandotte Street East near Glengarry Avenue and invest in improvements to the HVAC system.
The exact dollar figure that will be invested is not being released, as the project still needs to be put out to tender, but Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said it will be in the millions.
Dilkens said even as they work to find and build a permanent location, they know they need to operate at the current site for three to five years.
'It provides a lot more space that is unusable today. They also include some more restrooms and shower facilities, and of course, the HVAC system in the pool area hasn't been used for many, many years, so it needs to be upgraded anyways,' he said.
'So, it's not like we're taking good money and putting it after bad; we're actually upgrading a facility that we own that needs the work to be done.'
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the city converted the building into a homeless shelter and since then has expanded the services available to include washrooms, beds, and access to several social and support services.
Dilkens said they were going to have to fill in the pool in the future anyways, so council felt it was a good use of money.
'H4 is now open 24/7, 365 days a year. It is delivering services for very complex populations at that particular site,' he said.
'So it gives us some breathing room to be able to have people on some of the hottest nights of the year, or the coldest nights of the year in the winter, to have a place to take some of the surplus shelter capacity as well.'
It's expected the project will not be finished until the spring or summer of 2026 given the scope of the work involved.
The funding to pay for the work will come from money that was already budgeted for a permanent H4.
Dilkens said there's really nothing in there right now; it's just a giant space that used to be a swimming pool that needs to be filled in.
'Once it is made functional, then we have the ability to offer a lot more by way of support for people who are hanging outside nowadays,' he said.
'We can bring them inside into the air conditioning, and we can have different programming that keeps them in the facility. There's already food service there; obviously restroom facilities and showers are very important.'
The city recently expanded the search for a permanent H4 location beyond downtown Windsor after plans for a site at 700 Wellington Avenue fell apart due to the cost of land acquisition.
Once the council has a location narrowed down, the city will seek funding from the provincial and federal governments to help build the permanent facility, which was previously estimated at over $50 million but is expected to be much higher depending on if the work involves retrofitting an existing building or servicing the location.
- Written by Rusty Thomson/AM800 News.
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The former Windsor Arena and former Water World property along Wyandotte Street East in Windsor.(Google Street View) The City of Windsor is going to spend millions to upgrade its Housing and Homelessness Help Hub, or H4. City council voted during an in-camera session on Monday to fill in the pool to create more space in the former Windsor Water World building on Wyandotte Street East near Glengarry Avenue and invest in improvements to the HVAC system. The exact dollar figure that will be invested is not being released, as the project still needs to be put out to tender, but Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said it will be in the millions. Dilkens said even as they work to find and build a permanent location, they know they need to operate at the current site for three to five years. 'It provides a lot more space that is unusable today. They also include some more restrooms and shower facilities, and of course, the HVAC system in the pool area hasn't been used for many, many years, so it needs to be upgraded anyways,' he said. 'So, it's not like we're taking good money and putting it after bad; we're actually upgrading a facility that we own that needs the work to be done.' In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the city converted the building into a homeless shelter and since then has expanded the services available to include washrooms, beds, and access to several social and support services. Dilkens said they were going to have to fill in the pool in the future anyways, so council felt it was a good use of money. 'H4 is now open 24/7, 365 days a year. It is delivering services for very complex populations at that particular site,' he said. 'So it gives us some breathing room to be able to have people on some of the hottest nights of the year, or the coldest nights of the year in the winter, to have a place to take some of the surplus shelter capacity as well.' It's expected the project will not be finished until the spring or summer of 2026 given the scope of the work involved. The funding to pay for the work will come from money that was already budgeted for a permanent H4. Dilkens said there's really nothing in there right now; it's just a giant space that used to be a swimming pool that needs to be filled in. 'Once it is made functional, then we have the ability to offer a lot more by way of support for people who are hanging outside nowadays,' he said. 'We can bring them inside into the air conditioning, and we can have different programming that keeps them in the facility. There's already food service there; obviously restroom facilities and showers are very important.' The city recently expanded the search for a permanent H4 location beyond downtown Windsor after plans for a site at 700 Wellington Avenue fell apart due to the cost of land acquisition. Once the council has a location narrowed down, the city will seek funding from the provincial and federal governments to help build the permanent facility, which was previously estimated at over $50 million but is expected to be much higher depending on if the work involves retrofitting an existing building or servicing the location. - Written by Rusty Thomson/AM800 News.
