KITCHENER - The Region of Waterloo doesn't plan to redevelop the now-vacant Charles Street bus terminal in downtown Kitchener for at least two or three years.

The terminal in downtown Kitchener closed in September, after Grand River Transit bus routes stopped feeding into the terminal.

The 2.6-acre site "is a great opportunity," said Ryan Mounsey, the supervisor of economic development at the region. "It's in downtown Kitchener, at the entrance of Victoria Park, it's adjacent to the new Ion transit."

Because of that "we're going to make sure we move ahead in a very well planned and well thought out way," he said.

Community members have suggested using the site for affordable housing, a recreation centre, a relocated Aud or to expand Victoria Park.

In the short term, the site could be used for parking, short-term office leases or for pop-up cultural events, to keep some activity on the site until it's redeveloped, Mounsey said, even though the 31-year-old building's unusual floor plan doesn't work for all uses. A developer has paid to use part of the site for construction staging for about six weeks, he said.

The building isn't completely vacant - GRT security still have an office there and one of the transit bays is still used for intercity bus service. The City of Kitchener retains an adjacent parcel of about one-third of an acre, which has a water fountain and a 31-spot parking lot.

A lot of work has to happen before the region comes up with a long-term plan for the site, Mounsey said, including a review of the zoning, an up-to-date appraisal of what the property could be worth, how redevelopment fits in with the region's long-term strategic goals and an environmental assessment. A coal gas plant operated on Gaukel Street for decades; in 2007, Kitchener dug out 20,000 tonnes of contaminated soil from the site across the street from the terminal.

The region plans to consult the public in a number of way about the redevelopment, including public meetings and design charettes.

Regional council will get a report in late spring spelling out a timeline for the project, a plan of all the studies and work that has to happen for redevelopment to proceed and an estimated cost for those studies.

cthompson@therecord.com

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