‘A critical piece’: Region mulls phased approach to Charles Street Terminal site
Posted Mar 11, 2026 06:33:32 AM.
Last Updated Mar 11, 2026 12:37:11 PM.
With lots of ideas circulating for the future of the former Charles Street Terminal site in downtown Kitchener, a regional committee has discussed a potential phased approach to the three-acre site.
Plans would involve splitting the area into smaller developments, allowing multiple projects to come to fruition at different times, all of which were brought forward to the region’s Sustainability, Infrastructure, and Development Committee for discussion.
“Each one of those procurement processes for each stage will come back before council,” said Matthew Chandy, Director of Build Waterloo Region. “We’ll use that as a guiding principle for the whole site.”
As of now, the three-acre lot is owned primarily by the Region of Waterloo, but a small portion is also owned by the City of Kitchener for parking.
Various ideas have been floated for what the site could be used for, with councillors and information from public meetings pointing to affordable housing projects, green space, and a potential Indigenous learning centre.
“This is a critical piece of property, and I think a lot of people in this community are eagerly anticipating what comes to fruition,” said Councillor Colleen James. “I think a phased approach is a smart, attainable way to do this.”
Chandy said that splitting the site of the former Charles Street Terminal into various developments would allow for multiple projects to come to fruition, while also being developed at a more consistent rate.
“You must have had a phasing in mind on how to proceed because we’re not getting very far. How long has this been?” asked Councillor Sue Foxton.
“The site was decommissioned in 2019, we had the pandemic for over two years, and I’d like to remind council that there has been extensive environmental work happening on this site,” Chandy stated. “Those things need a provincial record-of-site condition before we can move forward on it.”
A lot of attention around why a phased approach would be beneficial for the region was focused on its wallet and the future uncertainty of the financial landscape.
Chandy and other regional committee members said it would allow projects to be developed independently, not being committed to the entire three-acre site at once.
“We learned pretty hard through the (Kitchener Central) Transit Hub that breaking this up is a path to go forward to de-risk things and achieve benefits across the site,” said Councillor Matt Rodrigues.
Ultimately, those committee members approved the motion unanimously, as well as an amendment that would allow staff to look into “options to retain public land ownership of all or portions of the site” as well as develop a specific affordable and non-market framework for redevelopment.
That motion on the future of the Charles Street Terminal site is now set to be brought forward to regional council for approval at their next meeting.
