BIA chair surprised by council's Wyandotte Town Centre rejection

Reaction continues to pour in after Windsor city council's decision Monday notcontinue with a plan to spend $1.4 million for the first phase of theWyandotte Town Centre World Market.

City Coun. Rino Bortolinis criticizingthe city's 'themed districting' plan for WyandotteStreet East, while the area's BIA chair is "quite surprised" after council rejected a plan for the area that was approved more than one year ago.

Instead of continuing with the plan from the business community on Wyandotte, council votedin favour of a new plan Monday that would harmonize the area with the city's $5.25-million "districting concept."

Districting involves highlighting certain aspects of specific neighbourhoods for example, making a distillery district in Walkervilleto takeadvantage of the close proximity toHiram Walker and Sons Ltd., the Canadian Club Brand Centre andthe WalkervilleBrewery.

Hear more fromCoun.RinoBortolinandWalkervilleBIA chair TamaraKowalska:

Bortolinsaidthe city's approachtodistricting needs to re-examined. He said setting up districts shouldn't be a "top down approach," so the city isn't playing "SimCity" or creating an "Epcot" theme park.

"There are much more than Middle Eastern restaurants and stores in that community," said Bortolin, referring to Mayor Drew Dilkens' idea to turn the Wyandottearea in a Middle Eastern district. "That'sthe whole idea [behind the BIA's original plan] of the world market."

Chair of the Walkerville Town Centre BIA,Tamara Kowalskathought the proposed Wyandotte plan that included colourful banners for the world market was a done deal.

"I was quite surprised in general, Ihadn't heard anything about it before Monday morning," she said. "In my mind the project had been approved."

Kowalska said architects who were working on the plan had been meeting with city officials regularly.