The City of Windsor building department issued emergency demolition and safety orders late last month against dilapidated, long-vacant properties owned by the company operating the Ambassador Bridge in the west end.
City building officials identified structurally unsound conditions, including collapsed roofs, on residential properties held for decades by the Canadian Transit Company (CTC) for bridge expansion plans.
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The current emergency enforcement targets 16 specific properties on Bloomfield Road, Edison Street, Felix Avenue, Indian Road, and Mill Street, which must meet deadlines at the end of July.
City records indicate a total of 17 properties face emergency orders as part of a broader ongoing dispute over 37 remaining CTC-owned sites in Sandwich.
CTC's Position and Plaza Expansion Plans
CTC officials stated they want to demolish all remaining vacant homes to accommodate a secondary inspection plaza expansion extending to Felix Avenue and toward Mill Street.
"That is the only way to effectively promote safety and realize the benefits of substantial investment in the community," said Randy Spader, Vice President of Operations for the Canadian Transit Company.
Spader did not answer subsequent inquiries regarding CTC properties outside the plaza footprint, including the old J. L.
Forster high school where a February 12, 2025, demolition request is still pending review.
"[The] CTC has long fought to demolish the remaining vacant, boarded-up houses in Sandwich and to subsequently invest in the enhancement of the Ambassador Bridge plaza," wrote Spader.
The company stated that the current orders do not encompass all of its vacant housing inventory within the neighborhood.
