New plaza near mall indicative of booming economy

Ashley Furniture, Five Guys Burgers renting space in Division Road mall

In yet another sign of Windsor’s booming economy, a 125,000-square-foot commercial plaza to be constructed a short distance from Devonshire Mall will feature a pair of national chain stores new to the city.

Ashley Furniture HomeStore and Five Guys Burgers will help anchor the new plaza that will see shovels in the ground in September at 650 Division Road on vacant property that previously served as home a half-dozen years ago to Union Gas.

The $35-million commercial project is being undertaken by Rock Developments — the same builder who in recent years brought back to life the former Home Depot site in the shadow of Devonshire Mall and which today is anchored by a Marshalls Canada retail outlet and a new Jysk location.

The new plaza should be completed and open for business in May, said Rocco Tullio, the company’s president.

Tullio purchased the Division Road site in 2011 before demolishing the old gas company office building. The property remained vacant until now.

“I think the market in the last 24 months has changed,” Tullio said. “The American dollar is favourable and you have U.S. retailers recognizing this area. Walker Road (big-box shopping area) is filled, and this is basically the last piece of prime space butting up against the No. 1 mall in the region.

“Our economy has been good, unemployment is low and things are favourable.”

Other businesses signing up to locate in the new plaza include Blaze Pizza and Freshii, a fast-food casual restaurant that specializes in vegan and healthy food options, he said.

The plaza is 40 per cent rented with several others poised to sign on, including an Italian restaurant, Tullio said.

“We do have interest from other national retailers looking for a presence in Windsor, so we hope to solidify that soon,” he said.

A new large-scale shopping plaza is more good news for area construction workers and building suppliers who are striving to keep up with the pace of the Windsor area’s economic rebound, said Jim Lyons, executive director of the Windsor Construction Association.

“The market right now is popping, but what’s encouraging to me is this is a new commercial development,” he said.

“We haven’t seen that in a while where this type of money is being invested. It shows (Windsor) is a place to invest and find success.

“These are franchises coming here that are not in our backyard right now. That is even more good news.”

The new plaza will include roughly 500 parking spaces, Tullio said.

Combined with the mall and his already renovated former Home Depot plaza, Tullio anticipates the area will “flow as one” for shoppers.

“You also have a lot of families and industrial workers in the area,” Tullio said.

“We will have a nice food mix and something there to attract everybody.”