Last night I was scheduled to speak as a delegate at council in regards to the possible relocation of the Downtown Farmer’s Market. However, prior to the council meeting, a “deal” was reached to allow the market another year at its current location and delegates were no longer needed to speak on the issue.

Upon returning home, I decided I would post here on my site my thoughts about the Downtown Farmer’s Market needing to stay at its current location for the long term. If you haven’t heard, the market is being told they will need to move from the old bus depot and a location under the Pelissier St. parking garage is being recommended, which includes tents on the street. The old bus depot would then be demolished to make way for yet another parking lot or structure for a proposed cultural hub.

Here are a few issues which I feel need to be brought forward in regards to a location for the Downtown Windsor Farmer’s Market:

• The lack of a long term commitment from the city for the current location has scared away investors looking into the properties immediately surrounding the market. The projects they were looking to invest in would have vastly improved the quality of life for residents in the downtown core all while supporting the growth and success of the Downtown Windsor Farmer’s Market. Another reason a long term commitment is needed is for proper marketing of the market. After years of moving around and having to spend countless of dollars just to inform people where they are located, the market has a spot they truly feel at home and where people know where to find them.

• The preference to move the market to a location which was used in the past and was an absolute failure disturbs me. I believe, along with many others, that returning it to this location will almost surely be sending the market on a rapid path to its demise. The logistics of this plan are not feasible. Some simple questions off the top of my head would be:
  • How will the vendors bring in their supply vehicles?
  • Where will cars go that are exiting the parking garage?
  • If that portion of road is left open, there is now a separation between the indoor portion and the outdoor portion of the market. How will this be feasible?

The proponents of the Pelissier location say the logistics are just a minor detail. I sure hope they are not in a position of power if that is their mode of thought. As someone who runs my own business and manages events, it is those types of key details that can make or break a venture.

• A quick look at a satellite image of our downtown core will show you that almost half of the land is covered by parking or vacant lots. To me, those lots are an eyesore and do not constitute a walkable, liveable and enjoyable environment and community for residents and visitors alike. The idea of putting yet another parking lot or structure adjacent to an existing 6-storey municipal parking garage which sits half empty a majority of the time is absurd and is a sad glimpse at a lack of vision our leaders have for our city.In its current location the market can be a sustainable, viable part of the cultural hub  proposed at the old armouries as both would feed off each other. I believe John Morris Russel of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra stated that the two can co-exist.
• As the market grows, there is the possibility for it to take place more than once a week and, in time, become a permanent, daily venture. If located outdoors on Pelissier like what had been recommended, it would virtually eliminate the possibility of that type of success.  One only has to look at cities such as Columbus, Ohio whose public market has become an incubator for small business and operates 4 days of the week. A perfect example of re-use of an existing building, they are located in a old warehouse. They are a vibrant, cultural part of that city and hold unique activities and events.  It is a place where people “shop, eat, mingle and people watch”.  One million people visit that market each year.  It is a showcase for local cuisine, foods, wines and artists.
• There is already a disconnect and lack of pedestrian flow from the downtown core and Caesars Windsor, something local businesses in the core have long argued to be a major issue. A new parking lot or structure will create a larger rift between the two.

These are just a few of my concerns regarding moving the farmer’s market itself and have not even touched the topic of the old bus depot building being a historically significant item.

Photo courtesy of Internationalmetropolis.com

The Downtown Resident’s Association requested $89, 416 for capital improvements to help fix the building and make it functional as part of the market. According to a report given to the Mayor and members of Council, back in 2006 the cost of demolition was tagged at $86,000. Wouldn’t it make more sense to bring a beautiful, “Moderne” style building (rare in Windsor) back to life as a vibrant spot locals and visitors alike can enjoy? Or, rather spend the money destroying it leaving and leave a gaping whole in Windsor’s architectural history and having the old bus depot join the likes of the Norwich Block, the Seagraves Building, the Bank of Montreal building at Ottawa and Walker and many others?

Photo courtesy of Internationalmetropolis.com

According to the report, there are only a handful of “Moderne” style buildings in Windsor left. City of Windsor Heritage Planner, John Calhoun, even states in the report to “request review by the Windsor Heritage Committee for possible inclusion in the Windsor Municipal Heritage Register, as a property of cultural heritage value or interest.”

I’ll finish this post with a quote that I feel speaks volumes as to what has happened in Windsor over the last few years. In a 2004 article in Smart Business, American developer Tony Troppe says this about the importance of old buildings:

“When you travel to a city, you don’t want to go to that place out on the expressway interchange. You want to go to the center of town to see how it emerged. There, you’ll find your most interesting buildings. If the city had any long-range vision for itself, it embraced these old places and continued to adaptively reuse these buildings to keep it as an interesting focal point of their community.”