The City of Windsor on Track to Surpass Housing Targets

Mayor Drew Dilkens was joined by Councillors Jim Morrison and Angelo Marignani; and Rob Piroli, President of Piroli Group Developments, to highlight Windsor’s progress toward meeting its 2024 provincial housing targets.
As of August 14, 2024, the City of Windsor has successfully initiated 924 housing starts, or 85% out of the province's target of 1,083 for the year. This puts the City in a strong position to receive provincial funding through the Building Faster Fund, which rewards municipalities that meet or exceed 80% of their annual housing targets. Windsor’s continued focus on housing development, combined with strategic efforts to streamline and modernize development processes, has positioned the City to meet this year’s target and the overall goal to build 13,000 new homes by 2031.
Mayor Dilkens and City Council have endorsed the Housing Solutions Made for Windsor plan – a comprehensive, strategic, and balanced approach aimed at increasing the supply of housing and meeting housing targets at an accelerated pace. This includes opening municipal lands ready for development, a vacant home tax to boost the availability of the current housing stock, and official plan amendments to focus intensification on key areas along major thoroughfares and transit routes.
The City’s Building and Planning departments have implemented several innovative measures to enhance efficiency, including the creation of a specialized Development Application Coordinator team to serve as a single point of contact for customers throughout the development application process. This initiative has significantly improved permit processing times and reduced application backlogs, fostering a more responsive and efficient service experience.
Furthermore, the City has leveraged the Streamline Development Approval Fund provided by the Province, allowing the City to digitize records, modernize technology platforms, and review policies that support housing intensification and address legislative changes.
This total modernization effort has resulted in the City of Windsor being a leader among Ontario municipalities in issuing planning approvals, with the average application taking less than six months.
This streamlining has supported increased permit and planning approvals. As of August 2024, the City has issued permits and given planning approvals for an additional 2,582 new residential units.