Grand Trunk Renewal

Draft guiding principles for the Grand Trunk Renewal Project were presented to Stratford City Council on Monday, April 22nd. The Ad Hoc Grand Trunk Renewal Committee prepared the draft guiding principles and aim to set out the high-level outcomes for the project. You can read the Council report here on the Council Calendar here: https://pub-stratford.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=5723

Thank you to everyone who attended the GRANDTrunk Dialogue 1 event on March 26, 2024 at the Rotary Complex. There were over 120 attendees and a great deal of energy and excitement as we explored together the potential of this project. A special thanks to members of the Ad Hoc Committee who spoke at the event: Georgia Neely, John Kastner, Joani Gerber, Melanie Hare and Trudy Jonkman. A video of the event will soon be available and you can find the information from the evening in the For Reference section of this page.

Some recent coverage in the local news about the upcoming GRANDTrunk Dialogue Events:

• Grand Trunk community events another step in complicated redevelopment, The Stratford Beacon Herald on March 13, 2024
• Melanie Hare for the Ad Hoc Committee for the Grand Trunk Renewal, MyStratfordNow

For more information, you can read the media release on the City of Stratford website.

Please Join Us to Discuss the next steps in the renewal of the Grand Trunk site

The Ad Hoc Grand Trunk Renewal Committee will be hosting a series of community events this spring to engage with residents and start a dialogue on refreshing the Master Plan’s Vision and Guiding Principles for the site. The Master Plan is a high-level plan that shows the overall direction and objectives of developing the site, its Vision is a way of articulating what should be achieved by the development and Guiding principles are goals and values that should guide decision-making in developing the site.

These meetings will be an opportunity to provide an update on the Grand Trunk Renewal process and engage the community on a refreshed Vision and Guiding Principles for the site. The refreshed Vision and Guiding Principles will become the foundation for moving forward to implementation and to setting the stage to bring on partners to unlock the remarkable potential of this 18-acre City-owned site in the downtown.

You can learn more and register for this free event below:

GRANDTrunk Dialogue 1 – Where are we and where do we go from here? The (Grand Trunk Renewal Project) process, March 26, 2024, 6:30-8:30 pm, Hall A, Rotary Complex

An opportunity to learn about the history of the site, where we are today and the process and work to date of the Grand Trunk Ad Hoc Committee. More details and registration information can be found on the Eventbrite page.

GRANDTrunk Renewal Dialogue 2 - What can we Learn from Elsewhere: Exploring the Potential Today April 13, 2024 2-4 pm, Auditorium, City Hall

Join us for a panel of speakers who have been involved in significant and impactful urban revitalization projects from places such as downtown Guelph, Niagara Falls new Exchange project and Kitchener’s Tannery and Breithaupt Block. Learn and ask questions about how we can apply their successes and learn from their challenges for the Grand Trunk site. More details and registration information can be found on the Eventbrite page.

Connor Luczka offered an overview of the February 20, 2024 committee meeting. You can read it on the Stratford Today website here.

Council endorsed the Committee's work plan at its February 12th meeting. You can find the work plan here in the report. The primary focus is 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 planning a series of community events in the spring and summer, and anticipates bringing a final vision and guiding principles forward to Council in the late summer.