The federal government is expected to fully restore downtown Windsor's Paul Martin building.
That, according to Downtown Windsor BIA Chair Larry Horowitz, who is excited about a possible economic boost once renovations are complete and the scaffolding is removed. "We know it created job loss and opportunity loss for many of the merchants in the area. We know it's affected tourism, in that particular spot of downtown. So we do feel that this new development will create job opportunities," explains Horowitz.
The DWBIA chair believes a couple thousand federal government employees could continue to work out of the Paul Martin building, but is hoping to again explore the idea of bringing the University of Windsor's law school into that location as well.
It's not yet clear when the federal government will officially announce the $8-million to $16-million it's expected to take to completely refurbish the downtown structure. Horowitz says he's been talking to "a source" about the Paul Martin renovation project, and that he'd like to thank Essex MP Jeff Watson and the federal Conservatives.
