Windsor Armouries Festival Hall:
“A Golden Opportunity”

Needs Assessment for Feasibility Study Has Positive Results
(click to view PDF of the study)

“The overall concept of converting the Windsor Armouries into a cultural venue is a good idea”, concludes Webb Management Services. “It can potentially provide the region with a high-quality performance venue at a fraction of the cost of building a new hall. In addition, the adaptive re-use of the Windsor Armouries is fundamentally a preservation project – a way to preserve a building that is historically and culturally significant”.
 
A team led by Webb Management Services was hired by the Armouries Concert Hall Committee and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra in September 2008 to study the feasibility of transforming the Windsor Armouries into a concert hall and regional performance venue. In March 2009, two of the three phases of the study were presented to the Armouries Concert Hall Committee.  
 
The physical assessment of the building received glowing remarks. Webb Management comments, “The existing geometry and materials offer what could be described as a golden opportunity for great acoustics…the Windsor Armouries building is well suited for the proposed purpose”.
 
The cost of renovation is estimated to be $28.3M. To put this in context, the proposed new concert hall in St. Catharines, ON is budgeted at $101M.  
 
“Finding project partners in this community who are willing to invest in this important endeavour is a crucial component to moving forward”, explains the WSO’s Executive Director, Jeth Mill. “Given the orchestra’s current financial position, we simply can not take on a project of this magnitude alone”. To that end, the study notes that there is potential for the Armouries to be transformed into a performance venue, if steps are taken to bring on additional project partners.
 
“A concert hall is really part of the infrastructure of a community,” said Athos Zaghi, from Theatre Consultants Collaborative. Like a park or arena, this building has the potential to make a difference in the image and mentality of the surrounding community.  
 
“This is not a concert hall for the sole use of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra”, John Morris Russell, Music Director of the WSO. “It’s a gathering place for all of Windsor/Essex. This is a facility for everyone, including hundreds of kids in school bands, dozen of singing ensembles, audiences for films, meetings, weddings, convocations, and festival performances.”
 
The project must begin with a shift of perceptions by our civic leaders. According to Webb Management, the Armouries venture is not yet “perceived as a regional and downtown revitalization tool.” Richard Florida, renowned author and professor of economics, affirms “cities need to nurture and support the local arts community, which supplies energy and the creative ideas…that drive business, science, innovation and technology”.

Please share your comments on the Windsor Armouries Project with
the Mayor and your City Council Members.

Windsor Armouries Concert Hall Needs Assessment prepared by: Webb Management Services, Theatre Consultants Collaborative, Dillon Engineering, Aercoustics, and Vermeulens Cost Consultants. The Windsor Armouries feasibility study is made possibly by United Communities Credit Union, The City of Windsor, Downtown Business Improvement Association, Essex County, The Windsor Symphony Orchestra, and individual donations from generous supporters.