‘I only see positive things’ — Dilkens after decade as Windsor mayor

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After a decade at the helm of Canada’s southernmost city, the biggest change Drew Dilkens has noticed is in residents’ attitudes.

When the mayor took office in 2014, Windsor, its business community and residents were still feeling the effects of the 2008-’09 Great Recession, “trying to claw our way back, get things back on the rails, and get some hope and optimism.

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“There was still a down feeling in the community. There was a sense that things aren’t right yet,” Dilkens said during a year-end interview with the Star.

But over the last 10 years, “community spirit” has changed, he said. Landing a $6-billion electric vehicle battery factory, construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, a new regional acute care hospital on the horizon, and other significant economic investments have invigorated the city.

Now, the Conference Board of Canada is forecasting the Windsor-Essex region will have the fastest-growing GDP in the nation between now and 2028.

“It’s been a very good decade, very positive. Everything’s moving in the right direction,” Dilkens said.

For the mayor, 2024 was about growth and how the city can best support an unprecedented population boom. Last year, Windsor and Essex County added nearly as many people — almost 32,000 — as it had in the previous two decades combined.

“There is no doubt it puts pressure on our systems,” Dilkens said.

He hears residents’ gripes about high traffic volumes that come with a growing population. He also hears them moan about disruptive road work necessary to maintain, expand and in some cases reimagine some of the city’s busiest thoroughfares to support that growth.

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“On a city planning horizon, it’s happened so quickly that it’s challenging. You have to align your budget resources with that type of growth.”

That includes funding allocations in the upcoming 2025 budget for the expansion of County Road 42 to support the new regional acute care hospital at 9th Concession, and planning to connect Lauzon Road to Highway 401, he said.

Housing has been another key issue for Dilkens. After falling short of its first-year provincial housing target and missing out on millions in grant funding, Windsor kicked it into high gear in 2024 to facilitate residential development.

In March, council announced its Housing Solutions Made for Windsor strategy. Dilkens called it a “major program,” one that includes making several city-owned properties available for private residential housing development. The city has already launched requests for expressions of interest from developers for downtown parking lot lands on Caron Avenue and Pelissier Street, and it plans to do the same with other municipally owned properties next year.

By the end of October, the city had issued 1,410 new residential development permits for 2024 and granted planning approvals for an additional 2,024 units. It also exceeded its provincial housing target by 30 per cent.

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“We received some criticism about not meeting the target,” Dilkens said. “Well, now we have, and we’ve vastly exceeded it.”

Doing so required “a lot of structural change” at city hall, he said, compressing timelines for processing development applications, and ensuring those applications are still being processed when staff go on vacation, for example.

“It may sound simple, but there are systemic changes that we’ve made to get things through the pipeline faster,” Dilkens said.

“I’m really happy on the housing side and the development side. I think that type of development is a function of, and a product of, the (economic development) space.”

Windsor’s NextStar Energy Inc — a $6 billion electric vehicle battery plant announced in 2022 — began production on battery modules in late 2024.

Dilkens says more battery plant supply chain partners looking to set up shop in Windsor will be announced in 2025. The city is still trying to get one deal “across the finish line, and the other one, we’re almost there,” he said. Those will bring more than 1,000 jobs to the city.

The city’s long-struggling downtown was a big focus at city hall this year. Council unanimously approved a multimillion-dollar plan to defibrillate the neighbourhood, which had developed a reputation for blight and crime. The seven-part Strengthen the Core strategy began in May with the dedication of 12 more Windsor police officers to downtown, the extension of hours at the city’s Homelessness and Housing Help Hub, among other things.

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“I think it’s getting better,” Dilkens said of downtown.

Working downtown at city hall every day, Windsor’s mayor said he sees more people returning to the core. However, with many people still working from home — including city staff — an opportunity exists to bring folks back to the area. Dilkens suggested the city may have to adjust its work-from-home policy, which allows roughly 600 staff to work remotely two days each week.

“There is a corresponding detriment to having people work at home and not be in the office, eating out for lunch, or doing what people do in their off-time,” he said. “Maybe one day a week is an appropriate work-from-home policy.”

There’s a line Dilkens has said so often over the last few years that some council colleagues now poke fun at him for it. The same words slipped from his lips during his year-end interview with the Star:

“I’ve never been more optimistic about the future of the community than I am today.”

And that remains true, he insists.

“I’m quite genuine about it, because I really see so many things happening here. All of these things together are really quite positive.

“And I only see positive things in 2025.”

tcampbell@postmedia.com

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