Central library branch asked to leave Paul Martin Building in downtown Windsor

The Windsor Library’s Central branch has to move from its current location earlier than anticipated. CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell explains why.

The Windsor Public Library needs a new home for its central branch after being asked to leave its temporary location inside the Paul Martin Building in downtown Windsor, to make way for the ongoing construction of a boutique hotel.

The central branch has been located inside the Paul Martin Building at 185 Ouellette Ave. since February 2020 after leaving its permanent location at 850 Ouellette Ave.

In December 2023, the city announced that Rob Myers, the owner of Chatham’s Retro Suites and RM Auto Restoration, was taking over the Paul Martin Building from the city as part of a $30-million investment to create 80 to 100 suites, a restaurant, a cafe, and possibly a gym inside the property.

Ward 4 Coun. Mark McKenzie, chair of the Windsor Public Library Board, says they were recently asked how soon they can get the library and administration out of the building.

“The plan was to stay there another four to five years. But they’re saying that they’re way ahead of schedule. The sooner you guys get out of there, the sooner we can get this Retro Suites and Hotel up and running,” he said.

McKenzie said the city doesn’t have $30 to $40 million to build a new permanent Central library branch, but there are buildings downtown that have been sitting empty for years.

“We’re kind of looking at buildings and saying, ‘Ok, you know, here’s around 15,000 to 20,000 sq. ft., we’d be able to fit in there.’ We have a pretty healthy reserve, so we may not even have to go to the taxpayers to ask for more money for this new central library. We may be able to purchase a building and do all the updates we need by just going into the reserve,” he said.

According to McKenzie, the board is looking at all options.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to announce something within the next few months, and ideally we would have a new location open before the end of the year. You have to give some notice to some people sometimes, but we’re hoping that sometime in 2025 we can have a new central library location, ideally,” he said.

Retro Suites General Manager, Jessica Myers, said everything has been going great with construction in Windsor.

“We are right on schedule and actually looking to complete not only phase one to open fall in 2026, but also hoping to start on phase two as well, which would include the library,” she said.

The Windsor Public Library Board will next meet Tuesday, Feb. 18.

— Rusty Thomson/AM800 News