One of the largest dormant industrial sites in Waterloo Region is slowly coming back to life.
Officials gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Homer Watson Business Park, part of a revival of the former Budd Automotive property at Homer Watson Boulevard and Bleams Road.
“We’re really excited to get this project going,” said Craig Beattie, chief executive officer of Perimeter Development Corporation, which announced in the spring that it had acquired roughly half of the 32-hectare site in a joint venture with Toronto-based Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd.
“This site has quite a storied history.” Originally purchased for $300,000 from the city of Kitchener by the Budd Company of Philadelphia in 1965, the property housed an auto parts factory for decades that bore different names, including Budd Canada, ThyssenKrupp Budd Canada and Kitchener Frame. Production ceased in 2008.
The Homer Watson Business Park will bring three new buildings to the site, totaling more than 700,000 square feet of best-in-class, LEED-certified industrial space.