This Request for Information (“RFI”) is issued by The Corporation of the City of Kitchener (“the City”) for the purposes of gathering information about the marketplace in order to assist in the determination of future purchasing options or requirements.

In January 2022, Council directed staff to explore the potential uses of the West Avenue Storage Shed, located at 98 West Avenue within Victoria Park, Kitchener Ontario. Directly adjacent to the site is the intersection of the Henry Strum Trail and the Iron Horse Trail. The Henry Strum trail is partially paved and accessible to cyclists and pedestrians and is also a popular trail in the city. The Iron Horse Trail is used more than 250,000 times every year connecting key networks within the City of Kitchener such as the iON Light Rail Transit systems, on and off-road cycling routes, parks and open spaces, downtown Kitchener and several neighborhoods, as well as linking the cities of Waterloo and Kitchener.  

Within the surrounding greenspace of the West Avenue storage shed, there is ample opportunity for placemaking and community building, this is evident through the many placemaking initiatives currently on site, which include: a community garden, food forest, benches and a mural. 

Limitations of Site

• The storage shed will require substantial retrofits to meet current building code standards, including but not limited to adding a single bathroom, upgrading windows and doors, insulating interior walls and other building improvements. Currently, the building serves as a garage/storage facility.  However, if there is a plan to change its designated use, it is important to note that further assessment will be necessary to evaluate the implications on building code compliance.  This may entail additional upgrades to the building and the surrounding site.
• This site is within a floodway, so it would be difficult to entertain expansions of the footprint or significant grading. Any dwelling uses would be prohibited. 
• There is no on-site vehicle access or on-site parking available at this location given the lack of space and high volume of pedestrian and cyclist traffic.
• The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) has provided comments on this site and has no concerns with re-using the existing building for community or commercial uses if it’s a city initiative and a reasonable use. If the renovations are all interior or on the façade of the building, no GRCA permit is required. Any additional enhancements may require a minor permit.