New business helps downtown continue upward trend

New disco club coming to Windsor The downtown core continues to trend upward with a few new businesses opening up in the area. Bob Bellacicco has details.

Downtown Windsor will soon be a boogie wonderland with a new 21 and over club called Disco Inferno.

“It's something that hasn't really been done in Windsor to the level we're doing it,” said Andrew Corbett, managing partner of WKND Hospitality Group. “With our other properties it kind of compliments everything else we're doing having different concepts and attracting different audiences.”

The location of the bar is top secret but the hope is to have a grand opening in July. The club will have an LED dancefloor, disco décor and valet parking. The club is sensing a revival and is now hiring.

“A lot of positive momentum,” Corbett said. “I think downtown, we think downtown is poised for a comeback and we want to be part of it.”

Also opening soon is international brand Smoke's Poutinerie, who will be joining others like Starbucks and Taco Bell downtown.

“These are national or international brands that have said ‘hey, our analysts kind of see where downtown is going over the next ten years.’ They don't wait. There's predicted models,” said real estate agent Rhys Trenhaile.

Stephen MacKenzie lives and works downtown, “I’m enjoying seeing the renaissance of downtown. Of course there’s still a lot of work to do.”

The CEO of Invest Windsor-Essex feels a key to downtown Windsor's turnaround is proposed housing.

“When you see a rejuvenation of downtowns it's people moving to the downtown, working in the downtown, living in the downtown,” said MacKenzie.

Trenhaile is part of an investment group bringing residential development to the downtown core.

“Me, as a real estate agent, I'm getting inquiries from larger institutions from out of town that want to build here, specifically downtown because of what they can see,” Trenhaile said.

Students told CTV News they would consider moving downtown if the price was right. Some also said they avoid downtown as much as they can because they still don't feel safe walking the streets of the core.

Trenhaile says there will be different housing solutions downtown and feels urban density could help decrease the need for extra police resources downtown.

“With all of the announcements that we've got downtown including our projects you'll see police presence come back down to a fairly normal level for an urban downtown,” said Trenhaile.