A $20 million masterplan to improve the Riverfront Festival Plaza in downtown Windsor was approved Monday.
Key features of the design include two shade structures, water features, and flexible seating amenities to address heat island concerns.
The design proposes sea container kitchens and additional amenities to accommodate food service or merchandise sales during concerts or other events.
"There's so many different things that we could do down there if we move forward with this plan and part of this plan is not staying stagnant, not waiting for another council to make another decision on where we want to go," said Ward 3 Councillor Renaldo Agostino.
The plan was approved by a 7-3 vote. Councillors Fred Francis, Angelo Marignani, and Fabio Costante voted against it.
Francis stated it is not a priority for him right now.
"It's the Cadillac option, fantastic, I'd love to have a Cadillac but sometimes a Chevrolet is just as good if not better," said Francis. "You can only afford what you can afford, you can't go back to the pockets of the people to dig a little deeper and say I want to spend this money more because this is what I want."
Only around $18 million is currently allotted for the project in the 5-year capital budget. Final design and construction are not planned for this year as full funding is unavailable.
