Region collaborating with Metrolinx to build transit hub on Victoria Street

The Region of Waterloo is sharing an update on the future of the ambitious transit hub project set to be built on Victoria Street and how Metrolinx plans on transforming it into a gateway through the “Toronto-Waterloo Region innovation corridor.”

Construction on the Kitchener Central Transit Hub is set to begin in 2025.

The proposed plans were created in collaboration between regional staff and Metrolinx.

The hub is projected to cost around $35 million, with $33 million coming from the provincial government.

Features of the Kitchener Central Transit Hub include a pedestrian bridge over King Street and a loop for Grand River Transit and GO Transit buses.

Part of the construction will include reducing lanes on Victoria Street North between Weber Street and King Street, the region-owned portion of the road, to make way for “transit priority lanes.”

In July, a collision between a cyclist and a vehicle at King Street and Victoria Street sent a 19-year-old to hospital and halted ION service for more than an hour.

Construction will include the demolition of the Rumpel Felt building, a more-than-100-year-old factory on Victoria Street North. According to regional staff, the historic parts of that building will remain standing.

The surrounding land will be developed once construction on the hub is completed, regional staff noted, with opportunities for commercial properties or affordable housing.

Construction is set to be completed in 2029, with a grand opening to be held in 2030.