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Two vacant and under-utilized properties will one day be home to more than 380 units of housing, the City of Windsor announced Wednesday.

Farhi Holdings Corporation will develop the lot on Caron Avenue, while Farhi Holdings Corporation and the PCR Constructors—The Collavino Group will develop the lot at the corner of Riverside Drive West and Janette Avenue.

The developments are expected to total about $300 million, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens announced, joined by Shmuel Farhi, the CEO of Farhi Holdings, as well as Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino.

The move is part of a city strategy to spur housing development, dubbed Housing Solutions Made for Windsor.

That program “aims to increase the supply of housing to meet aggressive targets for the community by identifying and making shovel ready various municipal lands with high potential for residential development,” the city said in a statement.

“This development reflects substantial work that is going into attracting new investments, businesses, residents, and visitors to our community, and to the downtown,” said Dilkens.

“This also signals that the narrative is shifting, and that even in the face of economic uncertainties on the global stage, Windsor remains on an upward growth trajectory that will positively impact our entire community for generations to come.”

The Caron Avenue parking lot redevelopment will include three buildings and 200 units of housing, as well as ground floor commercial space, a coffee shop and restaurant. 

Housing in that development will be a mix of sizes ranging from studio apartments to three-bedroom units. 

Farhi Holdings Corporation will develop the old parking lot on Caron Avenue, the City of Windsor announced Wednesday. (Dalson Chen/CBC)

The Riverside Drive development — which had been previously announced — will be located at Riverside Drive and Janette Avenue, and will have a 28-storey residential tower with 187 units and commercial space, also ranging from studio to three-bedroom units. There will be four penthouse units. 

Farhi Holdings Corporation expects to break ground on the site in 2026. 

A similar plan spearheaded by Farhi Holdings Corporation had been announced years ago — at the time, nearly 30 storeys and $50 million, expected to break ground in 2020.

CBC News asked him about the delay in that development.

“This development is going to unlock Janette Street. Janette Street, we need (a) bank to support us … This development, we don’t need a bank, this development $20 to 30 million, we’re going to do it ourselves,” Farhi said of the Caron Avenue development.

Dilkens said there are development timelines that need to be met for both projects, and Farhi said “the minute the city will give us the permits, you’re going to see the machines starting.”

The city’s Housing Solutions Made for Windsor strategy was unveiled in March 2024 and identified municipal properties that could be redeveloped to offer affordable and “missing middle” housing. 

Other properties included in the strategy include Caron Avenue, the Pelisser Street parking lot, the former W.D. Lowe site, Roseland Golf Club parking lot, former Grace hospital site and former Windsor arena. 

It also includes a portion of the Kinsmen Normal Road park. 

Dilkens said the city has launched expressions of interest (EOIs) on three of those properties and started consultation on a fourth.

“I have to say there’s been a lot of uncertainty out there, a lot of conversation about Donald Trump and what’s going to happen in Windsor,” Dilkens said. “I just keep saying play the long game. And Mr. Farhi certainly plays the long game.”

The Caron Avenue site was the first, the city said, because it’s in a “strategic location” and in line with the city’s downtown development initiatives. He said he hoped to have more to announce on another EOI, with the Pelissier Street Parking garage, soon.

Farhi owns three other properties in downtown Windsor, as well as a large lot on Lauzon Road, and hinted at other large developments in the city’s future.