From railway to real estate: redeveloping the CP railyard.

City Councillor Lynne Reynolds' long-term vision for downtown Greater Sudbury does not include the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) rail yard.

The Ward 6 (city core) representative is putting feelers out on the possibility of relocating the yard, perhaps north to Chelmsford, and redeveloping the under-utilized real estate that would be left behind into a vibrant commercial, residential and tourist haven.

The councillor knows a thing or two about development. The Sudbury native sold real estate in the city for years, and has been in on more than a handful of development projects.

The idea is not a new one.

It was first floated by former mayor Joe Fabbro in 1968.

The city council of the time voted the idea down, according to Reynolds, accusing him of subscribing to a pipe dream.

CP has divested itself of its development divisions, once responsible for Marathon Realty and the Fairmont Hotel chain, and is focusing solely on rail transport.

No one had called the company about relocating the yard for 30 years, according to Reynolds.

"Marathon Realty wanted to develop the yard at no cost to the city," Reynolds explained. "But council accused Fabbro of having a pipe dream. I think that was shortsighted."

He was accused of the same thing during the visioning period of Civic Square's development (Greater Sudbury city hall and the former provincial building, now named Tom Davies Square), she says, and look what happened there.

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"Now it's a reality," she says, "and it was probably the single biggest thing we've had that changed the image and feel of the downtown. We have to have a communal vision for this, but it is doable. Anything is doable."

At present, Reynolds is working with the director of the Downtown Village Development Corporation, Susan Thompson, to drum up interest in the idea.

She says the movement will need compelling economic evidence that the real estate, virtually at dead-centre Sudbury, would be attractive and valuable enough to justify ripping up the rails.

CP has property near Chelmsford (about 20 minutes north of downtown Sudbury), she says, that would be perfect for the railyard. Contrary to common knowledge, about 80 percent of rail traffic that passes through the downtown yard is local, not national east-west traffic. For the most part, it is comprised of chemicals and other supplies going into the local Falconbridge and Inco operations, and the finished product heading out, most often south to Toronto.

With that in mind, she says the Chelmsford location would be ideal, considering the mines are outside the city's metropolitan areas.

"There's no harm in talking about it or looking for interest from within the business community," she says. "There are huge tracts of land involved. It would be the biggest renewal of the downtown in the last 100 years."

A CP spokesman told Northern Ontario Business' sister publication, Northern Life, that the company has no plans in changing their Sudbury operations, but as a good corporate citizen, is always open to new ideas from the communities they operate in.

The concept is simple: take what is now a relatively low-value piece of industrial land and turn it into a high-value tourism, residential and commercial anchor, adding significantly to the city's tax roll at the same time. The task, however, is complex. That's not lost on Reynolds, but she maintains all that's really needed is the will to do it. There is more than enough expertise in the city to make the project a reality, she says.

The project would need the buy-in of the private sector, as well as all three levels of government.

It would take tens of millions of dollars, but once the design and logistics are worked out, it could probably be done in less than three years.

The project would fall right in line with a "Green and Clean" policy for development in the city she and her fellow councillors approved over the summer.

What's needed is a long-term vision for the city, she says, and not just for downtown. Along the lines of global design and marketing guru Bruce Mau's thinking (he's also a Sudbury native), Reynolds argues there should be more aesthetic considerations when streets, buildings and neighbourhoods are put together.

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Now, when the metal prices are high and the mines are booming, is the time to think about this sort of project. When the thin times come, she says, these are the first things to be shelved.

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By CRAIG GILBERT

Northern Ontario Business