Windsor Public Library admin staff relocating from Paul Martin Building to site near city hall

Windsor Public Library Central Branch seen in Windsor, Ont. on Sept. 19, 2025. (Gary Archibald/CTV News Windsor)

Administrative staff with the Windsor Public Library (WPL) will soon be on the move.

40 staff members are being moved out of the second floor of the Paul Martin Building that houses the Central Branch downtown.

Staff will move into the former Motor City Community Credit Union building across from city hall next month and are expected to be fully running by late March.

The hope is for the building to be a permanent home for administrative staff according to chair of the WPL board and Ward 4 councillor Mark McKenzie.

“The people who aren’t the frontline, do we actually need them located in the Central Library? After some discussions with our CEO and discussions with the board we decided that it makes sense to just move them into this building next to city hall,” McKenzie said.

The Central Branch has been located inside of the Paul Martin Building since February 2020, but were asked to vacate by early 2028 due to the ongoing construction of a boutique hotel.

Library staff raised concerns last month over small disruptions the construction was causing.

McKenzie said for now they will need to lease both spaces, however the positive being the new space is a city-owned building.

“We’re only paying $1 a year rent at this facility that’s next to city hall, and so we are going to end up hopefully seeing a cost savings in the long run there,” he said.

Despite having to be out of the building in two years time, there was $0 allocated in the proposed 2026 budget for any moves or builds.

McKenzie said he hoped the issue would be discussed at next month’s board meeting.

“All options are on the table, and again, I hope that we can have at least a location determined before the end the year,” he said.

“Not only, again, does the public deserve it, but our staff deserves it as well.”

Last fall, the city held a public open house to gather feedback on the future of the Central Branch.

At that time, WPL CEO, Jen Knights, said the next steps would include looking into any vacant buildings that could be retrofitted, or if they should move forward with constructing a new building.