As I look at the corner of Walker and Ottawa, I can’t help but be taken with how much better it looks now.
So much better without that pesky historic bank. The bank was designed by Kenneth Rea in 1919. Rea was a Montreal based architect, who did most of his work in that city, but he was also the chief architect for the Bank of Montreal from about 1909 though 1930. His Bank of Montreal work can be found across Canada from Halifax to Vancouver, but not in Windsor anymore…
Enough with the history lesson, however… It is nice to see that the Bank has been replaced with a garbage bin screen. A fitting replacement for such a main intersection, and certainly the best use for the land.
Who owns the property?
Yes! Much better….NOT! What I see is a blank canvas for our spray can urban artists! I can’t wait to see it tagged… Maybe someone should organize the spray can artists and ask them to aid the city in creating interesting spaces and sights.
Perhaps they should paint a mural of the old bank on the garbage bin screen. That would be sharp………………………………………
oh ya…that is a beaut. you know…i always say, it’s okay to tear down old buildings…just as long as you put a plaque there, or throw up a picture so everyone knows what it used to look like or what used to be there…but this…this is much better. thank you mr. govas for enriching the neighbourhood! the rest of the city should take note…garbage bins ARE beautiful!
That looks like a shed to me. Did he get a building permit? Any kind of shed structure over 8×10 feet requires a building permit prior to it being built or it has to be removed.
It may be that the owner was aware of the controversy he created when he demolished the old Bank and the garbage bins are his way of responding to it. I read that one of our city councilors was looking into the placement of these bins but I haven’t heard anything since.
So much for the ideas of having a daylight corner.. Could the owners have placed the fence any closer to the road…
I thought part of the reason for tearing down the bank was for parking spaces and improved sightlines for the addition that was built?
I may be wrong here, but it looks like 2, maybe 3 parking spaces were created and now you have this terrible garbage bin on the corner. Are there not city bylaws against such activities?
I know what the Site Plan approved process is like in the city of Windsor, I would assume the rezoning a property like this would go through a number of meetings. The site plan review committee can be very meticulous on what is required for a site layout to be accepted. I don’t know why this layout couldn’t have been modified to have the garbage dumpster in the back of the building. Note a commercial and some residential projects and subject to site plan approved. This process can take up to years depending on the project…
The only problem I have with the above comments is that I have absolutely no idea of what the rental history of the building was. Yes, it’s sad that it was torn down, but if there was no adaptive reuse of the building in the offing, what were its chances of survival? Preservation for the sake of preservation is an expensive idea.
Makes me want to go by that corner and toss a few cans of paint on the sidewalk for a local artist to “find”. What wahoo at city hall let this happen?
Does anyone know the outcome of tonights city hall meeting?
I saw the agenda and i guess they were going to talk about the issue. If you read the agenda on the city website there is a letter from the owner saying if they have to go though site plan approval they will take their business and leave the city. i guess the city is being threatened? it is ridiculous to think that our city planners are letting themselves be pushed around by some bullies. i guess if you have some money you can do whatever you want and the city will just close their eyes.
Hahaha, good riddance. Don’t let the door hit them on the way out.
CDM a few months back in the winter the owner of that property attended a council meeting because of the location of the garbage been they wanted him to move it to another spot on the property but there was some problems with doing thta so i guess it stays there they could at least paint it green or put a mural on it so it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb
pinstripes you have fulvio valentinis to thank for that nice white enclosure around the garbage bins
I remember the old Bank of Montreal from the sixties. We would pick up Mom from work (Wyeth’s, 2109 Ottawa) on Friday afternoon, go to the bank, and head out for one of our summer car trips.