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‘Answers for downtown’ — King Development is proposing an ‘urban mall’ with two levels of retail below and residential units on top as part of a transformation of the Windsor Arena property. Photo by Conceptual drawing courtesy of Leigh Ann King /Windsor Star
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Having fulfilled their vision of building the Central Park Athletics multi-sport academy complex, James and Leigh Ann King are now turning their attention back to a dream they first had 14 years ago of repurposing the former Windsor Arena into a downtown market and anchor of an urban ‘creative living’ community.
The multimillion-dollar Central Park Athletics is up for sale and King Development begins entertaining offers later this month for the sprawling, nearly 250,000-square-foot facility.
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“It’s not that we really want to sell it, but it would free us up to work on our other passion, of revitalizing downtown,” Leigh Ann King told the Star.
“We feel we’ve fulfilled the goals we set out in creating Central Park. We could take on partners or we could sell it. If the right deal doesn’t come along, we’ll look at hiring someone to run it.
“Our plans for trying again with the Windsor Arena market project and downtown aren’t dependent on selling Central Park.”
A rink at the Central Park Athletics facility in Windsor is shown on Thursday, May 1, 2025. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star
Even as they go through the listing process, the Kings are also working on plans for a dome on the Central Park site that will house Windsor’s first FIFA-sized indoor soccer field. The plan is to have the dome operational for October if they don’t sell by the end of May.
“We’ve put more than $38 million into Central Park,” James King told the Star.
“We’ve had three offers to buy it over the years, but the timing wasn’t right for us. We’ve had seven groups through already and we’ll begin accepting offers later this month.”
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James King, owner of the Central Park Athletics facility in Windsor, is shown at the privately owned recreational complex on Thursday, May 1, 2025. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star
King said the facility has been appraised at $50 million, but the price is negotiable and no set figure has been included in the CBRE Windsor listing.
Leigh Ann King said her dream to create a top-notch sports academy facility at Central Park that was affordable and designed specifically to meet the needs of the Windsor community is the template for King Development’s ambitious new plans in the city’s core.
In addition to dusting off the Windsor Arena project, the Kings are also preparing plans to file an expression of interest with the city of Windsor on repurposing the former Lowe Secondary School into housing that fits the budgets of most area residents while preserving the school’s facade and historic elements.
King Development did something similar in recently converting the former DeSantis Catholic Elementary School on Marion Avenue into 53 apartments.
“It’s urban living where you put inside the amenities needed,” Leigh Ann King said. “It’ll be apartments, maybe a coffee shop, keep the gym, a place to store bikes or bathe your dog …
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“You’re on a bus route and close to downtown. The concept is about walkability and affordability.”
King said the Windsor Arena project is based on the same creative living concept, but on a grander scale, with more residential and commercial/entertainment components.
The Barn – Windsor City Market, side view as seen from Wyandotte Street East. Photo by Conceptual drawing courtesy of Leigh Ann King /Windsor Star
Mayor Drew Dilkens’ chief of staff Christopher Menard told the Star the mayor plans to meet with the Kings to discuss their downtown proposals, but they haven’t spoken yet and there is nothing yet on the calendar.
“With Windsor Arena included in the sites for Housing Solutions Made for Windsor, I believe any proposals will go through the full expression of interest process when the city is ready to move on that land, working through the various properties planned in the strategy,” Menard said.
The city begins accepting expressions of interest for the Lowe site this summer while targeting late 2026 or 2027 for expressions of interest for Windsor Arena.
Back in 2011, the Kings were successful in getting conditional approval from Windsor city council for their ambitious Windsor Arena market conversion plan. The inability to secure control of some other pieces of property in the neighborhood at the time derailed the deal as they turned their interests to Central Park.
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We have a lot of answers for downtown and the housing situation
“We think the timing is better for the project,” said James King, noting some of those property hurdles are no longer in place.
“The city wants to increase the number of people living downtown, trying to draw more people to visit downtown. Downtown needs a destination attraction.
“Phase one with the market would be a piece that attracts visitors. Phase two, which no one saw last time, has a solution for housing downtown.
“We feel we have a lot of answers for downtown and the housing situation.”
In this Jan. 10, 2012, file photo, James and Leigh Ann King are shown on McDougall Street with their original proposal for an urban mall revamp of the former Windsor Arena. Photo by Nick Brancaccio /Windsor Star
King added the original cost projection on the project was $100 million, but with inflation it will certainly be higher 14 years later. He said financing the project won’t be an issue for his company.
Leigh Ann King said the second phase of the project would flow out from the rear of the arena and would entail three levels.
The first level would be below ground level and would include commercial and parking. The second level would include a variety of shops, cafes, restaurants, offices, food stores and entertainment options, with the third level being apartments/condos.
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The levels would have some curves to them, green spaces and public art and extend all the way to the intersection of University and McDougall avenues.
Conceptual drawing of The Barn – Windsor City Market showing the view from the corner of Wyandotte and McDougall streets. Photo by Conceptual drawing courtesy of Leigh Ann King /Windsor Star
“It will be open air, so you could see from the third level down to the first level,” Leigh Ann King said.
“The aim is to have everything you need right there, so you don’t need a car. This city needs a market and it needs affordable urban living spaces.
“It needs retail and shops and a destination that also lures people from the suburbs and towns.”
Green roofs dominate this overhead Phase 2 conceptual look of King Development’s urban mall proposal for the former downtown Windsor Arena property. Photo by Conceptual drawing courtesy of Leigh Ann King /Windsor Star
Like their envisioned Lowe project, the downtown residential units are aimed at keeping costs affordable for the average person.
Leigh Ann King added they’ve been working with the city’s building department on what community improvement plan incentives might be available. Having had the Windsor Arena phase already previously approved, King said they could be ready to proceed quickly.
“We can work under the timelines of the city,” King said. “We could get the market up and functioning this year.”
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James said the second phase will be more complicated in terms of and securing the land needed and construction. There are four city social housing units on the land eyed behind the arena for a portion of the development.
“We’d have to relocate that,” James King said. “There are options now that we can do that.”
If those social housing hurdles can be cleared, King estimates it would take two to three years to complete construction of phase two. He noted when the Kings first presented this plan to investors in 2010-11, they had enough interest to fill all the commercial spots.
“We still believe in the vision for downtown and the old barn we had in 2011,” Leigh Ann King said.
Windsor developers Leigh Ann and James King join then-mayor Eddie Francis in presenting their plan to convert the former Windsor Arena into a retail shopping centre and market during a press conference at city hall on Jan. 9, 2012. Photo by Tyler Brownbridge /Windsor Star
“We want to create something specifically designed for Windsor. It’s our city and we want to continue to re-invest in it to make it better,” she said.
