Construction begins on new transit hub at Canada Packers site
Edmonton’s former meat-packing district is becoming a transit hub.
After almost 25 years of sitting vacant, construction of Edmonton Transit’s $186-million northeast transit garage began Thursday on a 500,000-square-foot tract of land — the equivalent of 10 football fields — at the northeast flank of Fort Road and the Yellowhead Trail.
Slated for completion in early 2019, the facility will have capacity for 300 buses, administrative and operational space and a credit union. It will replace the 55-yearold Westwood Transit Garage.
“For the neighbourhood, it’s probably the biggest project and the most significant,” said Coun. Tony Caterina, who represents the area. “It sort of has everything in it — the new, the old.”
More than 700 transit employees will make use of the garage, which will sit near the 80-year-old Canada Packers smokestack, for which historical designation was secured in 2015. The facility will incorporate the landmark into its design.
The garage will be named after Kathleen Andrews, the city’s first female bus driver, said Linda Cochrane, city manager.
Andrews died three years ago at age 73.
“This new garage will respect the history of the site,” Cochrane said. “With a modern design and a capacity to potentially house electric buses, the northeast transit garage plays a key role in serving generations to come with better transit choices.”
The area needed a boost through investment, Caterina said. City council had originally toyed with the idea of building space for a daycare at the facility, but the idea fell through because of rising costs.
“I certainly would like to see something like that if we can possible include it into the building,” Caterina said of a possible daycare space.
“If not, I hope that some entrepreneur in the area will see the need for it and hopefully start to address some of the other buildings that are nearby and might make that decision to do it themselves.”
Enhancing Edmonton’s transit to mitigate emissions and controlling sprawl, Caterina said, are city council priorities.