Downtown Mission's move to library building could spark 'renaissance' on Victoria Ave.

Residents living in the historical homes along Victoria Avenue could see a significant increase in their property values as the Downtown Mission of Windsor moves to its new location on Ouellette, according to one Windsor-Essex real estate broker.

Shawn Leblanc attended Kennedy Collegiate Institute years ago and remembers walking through the neighbourhood back with it was a "crown jewel" of the city.

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The broker with Dan Gemus Real Estate said he expects the street to find new life as the mission moves two blocks over to the Windsor Public Library's Central Branch building.

"We're talking about huge, massive two-storey houses," he said, adding houses of that size are rare in Windsor. "I think it goes without saying that the area is definitely going to see a renaissance with the mission moving out of there."

Pat Holland isn't as sure. She and her husband Jim moved to VictoriaAvenue30 years ago with plans of raising their family there.

Back then, she said the street was different than it is today.

"My children grew up here and played outside with the other kids," she said. "They could actually play outside, but now, even for my grandchildren that is limited."

Not safe for kids to walk alone

Nowadays, Holland said when her great-granddaughter comes to visit the family doesn't feel it's safe to let her play alone outside because of strangers on the street and people passed out in alleys.

"When I walk to school to get my granddaughterto school I'm looking out, over both shoulders for what's coming down the alley," she explained.

Holland said over the years people have made several attempts to break into her home and car just the other day someone tried to force their way through a side door using a pry bar.

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The couple feelmoving the mission to Ouellettewon't really solve those problem. In fact, the Hollands believe the area frequented by homeless people downtown will expand along with the mission.

"They're not going to stay on Ouellette Avenue, they're going to branch out just like they did here. They want to get into your backyard, your garage, your house," said Jim."It's a disaster, an absolute disaster. It's no wonder people don't want to put businesses in downtown. Now we're going to have all of these transient people up and down [our main street]."

Neighbourhood is 'beautiful'

Sheryl Davies has lived on Victoria for 25 years and shared a different perspective.

She said it's a shame the mission needs to expand because it means problems like opiates and mental health are affecting more and more people in Windsor.

A proud Victoria Avenue resident, Davies added the neighbourhood was already starting to change with empty-nesters leaving and families moving in, even before the mission announced its intention to move.

"The neighbourhood hasn'tdeclined, property values as a whole are going up and I think we're going to continue to ride this wonderful Windsor-Essex wave," she said."Good, bad or indifferent, we're here, we're not leaving and we've got a neighbourhood that's quite simply beautiful."

Houses fetch prices up to $500K

Leblanc said it's been tough to sell single-family homes in the "immediate vicinity" of the mission. The homes that did sell ranged in price from $300,000 to $500,000 - figures he thinks could rise even higher now.

They're older houses loaded with character," he said. "[But] if I'm going to spend a half million dollars on the house I want to make sure it's safe."

The Hollands are skepticalthe mission leaving will have a huge impact on their home, but joked if that's really the case it might be time to start searching for a real estate agent.