Detroit garage sets creative example for Windsor
Tour of creative Detroit garage inspires Downtown Windsor BIA members
Larry Horwitz is looking north to Detroit for inspiration for what Windsor’s downtown could be — a vibrant, art-filled, clean destination that attracts residents and tourists alike.
The chairman of the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association was full of excitement and questions Wednesday as he toured the Z Parking Garage in Detroit’s revitalized central business district with several other DWBIA members and Windsor media.
Horwitz stopped to talk to folks enjoying a bite to eat at one of several bars and restaurants located on the ground floor of the 10-storey, 1,300-space parking structure, called The Z because it zigzags from the corner of Broadway Street and East Grand River Avenue to the corner of Library Street and Gratiot Avenue.
He peered inside retail store windows and marvelled at the endless artwork and the cleanliness of the space.
“They’re reclaiming their historical buildings. They’re creating parking garages with retail all through the bottom areas,” Horwitz said. “The parking garages … are so clean and beautiful. There’s art everywhere in their parking garages and tourists come from all over.
“What’s really magical about it is, right behind us, is the alley,” he said. “The alley is filled with lights and art and entertainment.”
That alley is called The Belt and it intersects the garage, which is owned by Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock Real Estate.
The tour comes days before city council will debate a report outlining a new tender price of $723,500 to convert existing retail space in the Pelissier Street garage back into parking spots.
Over in Detroit, plenty of events and parties are held in The Belt. There’s Yoga in the Alley, an annual Tigers opening day party and lots of newly married couples having their wedding photos taken there.
The artwork comes via a collaboration with the Library Street Collective, an art gallery next door and street artists who were hired to create 130-footwide murals.
The garage itself is a work of art with its sharp, angular concrete exterior and its glass-enclosed elevator with LED lights that change colour at each floor.
The Windsor visitors marvelled at how clean and secure it was.
The garage is power-washed twice a year, Bedrock employees told the group. Emergency call boxes and numerous cameras are located on every floor and 24-hour security patrols the building.
“The Z, what’s critical about it is, what’s fabulous about it — not only do they have the retail, but they’ve created a space up above that’s safe and it’s clean, so people want to park there,” planning consultant Jackie Lassaline said.
“You have a purpose, a reason for people to come downtown. The retail is the destination. The parking isn’t the destination,” she added. “Getting people out on the street is what’s critical.
Lassaline said Windsor could “absolutely” do what Detroit is doing.
Architect Joseph Passa also loved the vibe of the Z Garage and the surrounding area.
“You’re parking your car and you can go there and you can enjoy art or the streetscape,” Passa said. “It’s not just saying, park your car here. It says, enjoy the whole experience of the downtown.”
Of course, the Detroit Z Parking Garage is privately owned, but Horwitz said Windsor could afford something similar if it was seen as a priority.
“Private developers are incentivized to come to downtown Detroit,” he said. “The city works hard with them.
“This alleyway is owned by the city. The city allows (the merchants) to conduct business in the alley. They close the alley off, put lights everywhere,” Horwitz said. “They allow them to put seats in the alley, to create business opportunities and to make a business case for them to stay in business.
“And you have a downtown that’s … booming. We could do that in Windsor.”
Horwitz called Windsor’s parking garages dingy, rotten and disgusting. He said the Pelissier garage is dirty, and it has rusting landings and floors with broken tiles.
“The city has not invested a penny in lighting it, cameras, in cleaning it, in renovating it,” he said. “The money’s going somewhere … but it’s certainly not going into creating beautiful spaces for people to come downtown or go into the urban areas and shop or build.”
“The Pelissier Street parking garage is so terrible. I don’t know a lot of people that park there because they want to,” Lassaline said.