Grand Trunk Renewal

The Grand Trunk site is a City-owned 18-acre property, including a 160,000 square foot historic steam locomotive repair superstructure, adjacent to the City of Stratford’s downtown core. Its size and proximity to downtown makes it an ideal location for a variety of active uses. The site is currently home to YMCA and the University of Waterloo’s School of Interaction Design and Business.

Through extensive consultation with the community, a Master Plan for the site was developed and adopted by Council in 2018. The site is envisioned as a place for education, community, health, culture, entrepreneurship, and innovation with spaces, places and services for both residents and visitors. The City’s goal is to transform this site into a vibrant focal point of the community.

In 2023, Stratford City Council established the Ad-Hoc Grand Trunk Renewal Committee to provide support and a forum for input and exchange of ideas on the renewal of the Grand Trunk building, as well as to advise Council on the execution of the Master Plan and the redevelopment of the site.

The Ad Hoc Committee is currently working on updating the Master Plan’s Vision and Guiding Principles – which were originally shaped by research, planning work and public consultation done in 2016-2017.

The Committee is also working on the business case for the development of the site.