City council to discuss next steps to finalize redevelopment of former Stratford factory

After sitting empty for 50 years, the City of Stratford is moving closer to redeveloping the former location of the Grand Trunk Railways shop.

The plot of land, spanning 18 acres that contains the former factory building, sits on the edge of Stratford’s historic downtown.

It’s a site with a promising future which played an integral role in the city's past.

“When the shops first came to Stratford in 1890, the population of the city doubled. When they did a huge [expansion] in the 1920s, the population of the city doubled again. There [were] literally tent cities around that property,” said John Kastner, the co-chair of the Ad-Hoc Grand Trunk Renewal Committee, a group tasked with giving recommendations to city council.

With tentative plans for housing, a new library, a YMCA location and retail space, Kastner says council will ultimately have to decide what to do with the building.

“The Ad-Hoc committee was pretty clear… it felt you could use the main building for some municipal infrastructure, like a library, like a seniors centre,” said Kastner. “So, it’s a very big decision for the city.”

Kastner said other options would probably mean selling the building to private developers.

A city council meeting is scheduled for Feb. 10 to begin the process of deciding what to do with the plot.

Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma says the city is dedicated to getting it right.

“We're going to get one shot at this and we won't get it perfect, but we need to do enough work so that once we start the work, we're going to be as close to what we need, not only four or five years down the road [or] ten years down the road but 50 years down the road,” said Ritsma.

Kastner said if the city is successful in deciding a way forward, preliminary construction could begin in 2026.