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ROSE CITY POLITICS – Festival Plaza Redevelopment And Completion
For the November/December 2021 edition, the Rose City Politics panel opines on the proposed redevelopment and completion of the riverfront festival plaza.
Doug Sartori
City of Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens’ advocacy for the $32.5 million canopy at Festival Plaza rests on the argument that Windsor should “dream big” and build an “iconic” feature on our waterfront.
This argument raises important questions.
What tangible benefits can the community expect as a result of this investment, and what opportunities for investment are we forgoing by prioritizing this one?
Municipal budgets are not infinite. The conceptual drawings of the canopy are impressive and it certainly would be an attractive amenity if built, but I can’t help feeling that we’ve seen this movie before.
When the Aquatic Centre opened in 2014, then-Councillor Dilkens argued that it raises the profile of the city and “helps in the job of economic development.”
Seven years later, the Aquatic Centre has cost the city millions in operating losses on top of its $77 million price tag. It’s hard to see how this facility has supported economic development in Windsor.
The “Windsor Works” report on economic diversification released last spring cautioned against this type of investment, arguing that building amenities to attract tourists and residents often results in expensive white elephants that don’t do the job — “build it, and often they do not come.”
We should finish Festival Plaza, but the investment should be justified in terms of the tangible benefits it will bring to the community. A better riverfront venue will benefit Windsor, but I don’t see the evidence to support over-investment here.
Surely there are higher priorities for the City than another dubious bet on tourism.
Doug Sartori is a political observer and organizer. When he’s not recording podcasts or getting people out to vote, he runs Parallel 42 Systems, a technology consultancy in downtown Windsor.
Jon Liedtke
Finish the damn plaza.
For those who know me, it shouldn’t come as a surprise I support finishing Festival Plaza as presented, complete with translucent canopy and all.
My parents Sheryl Davies and John Liedtke were half of the original promoters of Bluesfest International and I grew up watching the festival and Windsor’s festival season grow from street festivals to the old casino onion-dome stage in a parking lot, to the current unfinished cement slab we have today.
The plaza is a heat sink, which makes it virtually impossible to use when the sun is directly overhead, and it’ll only get worse if summers continue getting hotter. Adding shade via a canopy, greenery, seating and perhaps a concession will provide year round access to what will arguably become one of the crown jewels of Windsor’s arts and culture offerings.
While the price is high, the unfinished site needs to be completed.
It’s not a comparable expense to the Aquatic Centre as it’s not predicated on a dream to lure tourists via sports tourism — Windsor’s festival season already draws tourists and event promoters and attendees deserve a completed site.
It’s unfortunate that politics delayed the projected start date, and my hope is that initial work can begin to ensure inevitable completion. Allowing for the Festival Plaza to remain a heat sink parking lot with a cement stage is half-assed and Windsorites deserve better.
And for those who point to the Jackson Park Band Shell as a more deserving project requiring investment, my response: why not both?
Jon Liedtke is a Co-host and Producer of Rose City Politics, a business consultant focusing on cannabis and marketing, an occasional reporter and writer, and a band member of Windsor’s The Nefidovs.