On our first visit to 875 Ouellette (across from the Windsor Public Library), Mark Lalovich of RE/MAX Preferred Realty and I visited the front side of the building on the first floor. But this building has loads of office space available on upper floors. So I took a look at them with Mark Lalovich.
What you’ll see from the video is the great view of Pelissier Street and Elliott Street from anywhere on the west side of the rental unit. It’s close to 1450 square feet. Mark calls this kind of bare location a “vanilla box”, because it’s ready for any kind of renovation. It’s going for between $6.50 and $8.50 per square foot including utilities. So, it’d be about $2000 per month. Gated parking is available to rent-holders.
The other great thing about this space is the limited energy needs in the latter half of the day. Being on the west side of the building, the sun pours in through the large bank of windows, limiting the use for lighting.
For those real estate agents who might come across these Moving In segments that would also like to showcase properties in the downtown, please contact Tom here to set up an appointment to film the property(s).
This week’s Moving In focuses once again on Ouellette Avenue in the same building that Miller Canfield Law calls home.
433 Ouellette Avenue used to be a Shopper’s Drug Mart eight years ago or so, and now is one large open space waiting for an idea.
I met with Mark Lalovich of RE/MAX Preferred Realty in February, and we slowly made it through all these potential profitable spaces on that cold winter day. In fact, this is the absolute last video from that day of real estate hopping.
The video is below, and I thought the rent levels were going to be mentioned in this tour. Upon further inspection, they are not mentioned. This is why I’ve included Mark Lalovich’s e-mail and phone number below, so you can ask him yourself. I do know that the owners are willing to share the cost of renovations for the space.
Mark Lalovich can be reached at (519) 966-0444 or marklalovich@remax-preferred-on.com for appointments regarding any of the downtown properties he represents.
For those real estate agents who might come across these Moving In segments that would also like to showcase properties in the downtown, please contact Tom here to set up an appointment to film the property(s).
This week’s Moving In focuses on Ouellette Avenue…near the Main Branch of the Windsor Public Library.
875 Ouellette Avenue is the exact property address, but there are already many tenants in the space.. It’s a multi-storey building…and this rental space is in the bottom front section.
I met with Mark Lalovich of RE/MAX Preferred Realty in April for a fresh batch of property viewings. Mark showed me a collection of spaces all within the same general area, just south of the downtown core.
The video is below, with all the rent details being mentioned during the tour. The area of the space is 2643 square feet. I believe they are asking $10 per square foot, and are willing to share the cost of renovations for the space.
Last week, while at Rogues Gallery, getting the scoop about Free Comic Book Day, I took in my surroundings. The neighbours to any business are crucial to the ambiance of the block, and the air of the business district. As of June 24th, 2007, this great little comics shop has a steady stream of potential customers in the way of bus travelers. That’s when the bus terminal relocated to 300 Chatham Street West. I said in last week’s video that I would eventually explore this space. Well, I wound up doing it a little sooner than expected.
The Windsor International Transit Terminal, as it is formally known, is an impressive structure.
“Clean” is the first descriptor that comes to mind when I step inside this building. “Airy” is the second.
Compared to the previous terminal further east (also between Chatham and Pitt) it replaces the image of subway terminals, darkened grout, and crumbling facade with a bright and welcoming feeling. Now that the Downtown Farmers’ Market has taken over the outside of the old terminal, both of these spaces look to flourish as their new functions are rooting themselves in the consciousness of Windsorites.
While I was shooting some video and photos, I noticed my Uncle John coming out of the terminal. He’s been a bus driver for as long as I can remember him. I asked him, as he rushed to his idling bus, what he thought of the new home of Transit Windsor in the downtown. He talked mostly about how easy it is to manoever, as a driver, in comparison to the old location. And it’s obvious that he keeps his ears open while driving, because he knows what the passengers appreciate about the new terminal. He said that they like being able to get inside at 5am instead of 7am. Many folks showing up for early buses would have to wait outside in cold or unbearably hot weather…at least until 7am when the terminal opened up. Now, at 5am, you can walk into a climate-controlled space and wait for your ride in comfort.
I shot two short videos of the Transit Terminal, all the while giving brief details about the history of Transit Windsor, and their locations. Also, below these videos, some more shots I snapped while at the Transit Terminal.
What do YOU think of the terminal? Have you spent any time there yet? Let me know what you miss about the old transit terminal (perhaps United Grill?). E-mail me!
There are places we simply drive past.
They aren’t a second thought because their prime function is housing people that worship in a way different from us.
Even though many call Central United Church, located at 628 Ouellette Avenue, their second home, many of us know it as the neighbour to Shoppers Drug Mart on the corner of Ouellette and Wyandotte.
A lot of these places feel like closed doors to us. Closed by our own lack of curiosity, or closed by our self-imposed restrictions.
The Open Doors Campaign, organized by church council member Dan Bryant, is a series of musical events aimed at trying to keep the church’s doors open by raising money from these concerts.
My blogger-friend Victoria Rose told me that she’d seen a concert there recently and it had been exquisite.
A Welsh tenor named Gwyndaf Jones, friend of Bryant, played there January 29th for $10.
That sentence might not hold any meaning for you, until you understand the phenomenal acoustics in Central United Church.
He didn’t use a microphone. He didn’t need one. If you watch the video tour below, you’ll see the majestic space, and imagine the sounds effortlessly flowing through it. He was joined by violinist Besnik Yzeiri, Sandra A Miller Radvanyi, and Alde Calongcagong on piano.
The idea of music taking place in a building that’s 104 years old is extraordinary to me. So much so that I plan on taking a closer look at the building itself in a future Salt & Roses segment with Neil Helmer. The 60-year-old pipe organ that can be seen looming over the altar is so prominent, it’s hard to look at it without imagining it calling to the heavens.
Bryant assures me that the intention of the church, (known to many as “What church?!) is going to hold a few organ recitals in 2010, which will be open to the public as part of the Doors Open Campaign. That alone has skyrocketed my interest. Also planned is a folk music series, aimed at getting an entirely different music-appreciating crowd inside of this audio giant.
The display sign out front will be displaying the next music event when it’s solidly booked in the church’s calendar. I will, for sure, be at the first organ recital. Maybe I’ll see you in this century-old, architectural, acoustic, heaven-sent building for some transcendent entertainment.
To inquire further about the church or their events, before the Salt & Roses episode highlighting this building comes out, go to http://central.mnsi.net or e-mail central@mnsi.net.
Yet another genuinely precious, mostly unknown, event-series in downtown Windsor. Tell someone this exists. Share this link with them!
And if you have a place you’re curious about downtown, and you’d like me to shine a light on it or the workers, or the owners, or the residents…send me an e-mail.
Have you ever wondered what sits behind the “For Lease” signs in the windows downtown?
I’ve always thought that it’d be interesting to walk within those spaces and imagine new businesses flourishing behind those signs.
As a downtown entrepreneur, the curiosity these vacancies foster has lead to a new feature for the Downtown WO Blog called “Moving In”.
In the interest of showing a clearer vision of downtown Windsor, the WO Blog will attempt to better acquaint entrepreneurs with their property opportunities in the downtown.
One of the driving forces of entrepreneurship and new business flourishing is vision. When you can’t see inside a vacant storefront, you can’t imagine the possibilities. If the entrepreneurial mind can walk through a potential business space, it can envision the transformation of a shell into a viable vocation.
Over time, Moving In will offer short guided tours of downtown spaces for sale or for lease. The curiosity of a potential downtown property owner in Windsor or from out of town can be satisfied from your keyboard.
For our introductory piece, I was able to meet with Mark Lalovich of of RE/MAX Preferred Realty. Mark was a great host, taking time to show me a few spaces he’s listing. He knows what used to be in the spaces, what they were outfitted for originally, and what kind of use they would accommodate with little or no infrastructure overhaul needed.
We took a look at a third floor vacancy at 633 Ouellette Avenue, steps away from the intersection of Wyandotte and Ouellette. Everything about the property is on the video, including costs etc. Take a look.
Downtown, interviewing, and investigating 6-months free rent at 500 Ouellette Ave. Entrepreneurs will love this.03:07:45 PM August 23, 2010from TweetDeck
