Work to replace an iconic Windsor landmark with a $8.5-million lookalike is expected to begin this month.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
A notice from the city dated Aug. 14 sent to nearby property owners said Bronte Construction is scheduled to begin work on a replacement for the Charles Brooks Memorial Peace Fountain later this month.
Construction will also include related site improvements, the notice said.
The work is expected to wrap up next summer, weather permitting.
Although council approved $10.5 million for the project, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said bids came in roughly $2 million under budget.
“It’ll be made by a Canadian fabricating company up in Burlington. We were compliant with buy Canada, buy Ontario (procurement policies), so we’re happy about that,” he told the Star.
“The plan is to have it commissioned and operational in time for the International Day of Peace on September 21, 2027.”
Reaume Park and Coventry Gardens — the location of the peace fountain — will remain open during construction. However, the notice said, there may be times where a sidewalk or parts of the park are closed to facilitate the work.
First installed in 1978, the peace fountain has been a floating memorial to founding CAW Local 444 president Charles Brooks, who was murdered by a fired Chrysler worker in 1977.
The original fountain shot water 70 feet (21.3 metres) into the air and had a synchronized lighting display. Although it far outlived its projected 20-year life span, it had become costly to maintain, with European replacement parts expensive and hard to find.
City council voted in May 2022 to replace the fountain with a near-replica made from parts available in Canada and the U.S. At the time, councillors agreed to spend up to $8.1 million on the project.
Just over a year later, in the fall of 2023, the peace fountain was disconnected and barged to Lakeview Park Marina for the last time after 45 years.
“I think some people thought we forgot about it, or we’re not putting any attention to it,” Dilkens said. “What we’re trying to do is replace it in a way that we can actually afford, because we know this is iconic. It’s one of those features that, if you see any postcard of Windsor, it’s usually the bridge or the peace fountain.”