Windsor's historic Paul Martin Building will transform into a new luxury boutique hotel

A Chatham-based developer says it plans to turn downtown Windsor's historic Paul Martin building into a luxury boutique hotel.

RJM Holdings says the 93-year-old Paul Martin Building is becoming a hotel with up to 100 suites.

The property will contain an in-house restaurant, caf, multiple meeting and event spaces, a library/loungeand retail areas.

"We have put a lot of money into downtown, waiting for that moment when this place is flourishing in the way that we all want to see it again,"Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkenssaid at a media conference at the buildingThursday morning.

"And so this is another major step, a major piece in that puzzle. And we know that getting it right means getting safety and security right, which is why you're going to see a plan coming forward, a comprehensive plan that deals with that as well."

"We knew that there were some real possibilities and prospects out there. And so we took the risk, and today that risk is paying off."

In 2015, the federal government sold the building to the municipality for $1. The Paul Martin Building, once home to Canada Post, the Canada Revenue Agency, and the Canadian Border Services Agency, is set to be transferred to the RM Group of Companies for $1, on the condition that the company follows through with its $30-million investment plan, Dilkens said.The company has also been granted cumulative tax financing through the city's Community Improvement Plan program.

"We intend to keep as much of the historical elements as possible, adding in your neon signs or crazy modern art but definitely keeping the historical elements of the building," Jessica Tsirimbis with RJM Holdings said at theevent.

"But, it will have its own identity."

Dilkens said the project will employ about 150 people andis estimated to take two to five years, with the first phase to be completed by 2026.