Stratford, Ontario

The combination of the monumental former CNR Locomotive repair building on the Cooper site, its immediate adjacency to Stratford’s downtown and its relatively unspoiled context present an unparalleled opportunity to add new life and vitality to the core of Stratford, Ontario. The CNR building is a remarkable artefact of the industrial era with a truly impressive cathedral-like interior. It is largely intact and ready to be transformed into a spectacular contemporary space of a type which is much sought after. Ken Greenberg is working with Riversedge Development is to utilize a tried and true step-by-step method in partnership with the City to incrementally reveal its full potential as a hub and great public gathering space, complementing and expanding the Downie District it anchors. The iconic CNR structure is already surrounded on all sides by a “world in motion’ – momentum created by recent and new initiatives – the downtown core, the Avon Theatre, the Digital Media Campus of the University of Waterloo and the YMCA with its own expansion plans, plans for a renewed Market Square, student housing in the Bradshaw Building, the potential redevelopment of the Police Station site, the Via Rail Station and the proposed redevelopment of a number of existing structures and infill sites. Building on this concentration of key assets and initiatives, Stratford is perfectly poised to expand its range and diversify its local economy in this strategic area. A two part strategy is needed to optimize the mutual benefits and synergies that will flow in tandem from transforming the CNR building and revitalizing the Downie District.