A residential tower built together with a working fire station, a high-rise complex nearly the size of a small town and two buildings that could alter Kitchener’s skyline are among the more unusual developments moving through the planning process in Kitchener and Waterloo.
The projects vary widely in scale and status. Some are approaching construction, while others remain concepts requiring further approvals, financing or infrastructure capacity.
That distinction is important in Waterloo Region, where constraints in the municipal water system have delayed or placed conditions on some large developments. An approved zoning change gives a developer permission to build; it does not guarantee that construction will begin.
Here are six projects worth watching.
Firefighters downstairs, nearly 300 apartments above
The most unconventional project is planned for 450-470 King Street East in downtown Kitchener.
The City of Kitchener and Kitchener Housing Inc. intend to combine a new municipal fire station with a 19-storey rental building containing approximately 280 homes. Council approved the project plan June 29 after unanimously supporting the necessary zoning amendment earlier that month.
Fire Station 8 will occupy the lower portion of the complex, with two vehicle bays and operational space. The residential portion will include a mixture of market-rate, below-market, affordable and attainable rental housing.
The plan also calls for an indoor community room, public plaza, landscaping and approximately 300 bicycle parking spaces.
One of its most unusual features is what it will not contain: dedicated parking for residents.
The city says the location’s proximity to an ION light-rail stop, bus routes and cycling infrastructure eliminates the need for residential parking. Ten spaces will be reserved for the fire station, with additional short-term areas for deliveries and drop-offs.
Kitchener Housing Inc. says tenants who require personal parking could be matched with other buildings in its portfolio where spaces are available.
Combining emergency operations and housing will require careful acoustic and structural design. According to the city, the fire-station bays will be enclosed and sound-reduction measures will be incorporated into the building.
The unusual arrangement is partly an exercise in making more productive use of publicly owned land. Instead of dedicating an entire downtown property to a low-rise civic building, the city intends to place housing and community space above it.
A building permit is anticipated in fall 2026, with major construction expected to begin in spring 2027. The fire station is targeted to open in 2028, followed by completion of the residential component in 2030.
The housing schedule remains dependent on financing and government program support, according to the City of Kitchener.
An industrial property could become a high-rise district
A pair of towers proposed for 50 Borden Avenue South would rise 51 and 57 storeys, placing them among the tallest buildings planned in Waterloo Region.
Woodhouse Investments and Vive Development propose replacing an industrial property between the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium and Rockway Golf Course with more than 1,200 apartments.
The development would include commercial space and nearly 600 parking spaces. Most of the apartments would contain one or two bedrooms.
Its location is nearly as notable as its height.
Kitchener’s highest-density construction has generally clustered around downtown and the ION corridor. The Borden Avenue proposal would introduce a major concentration of residents into an area historically characterized by industrial and commercial properties.
The project would also sit close to the former Schneider Foods lands, where another large mixed-use neighbourhood is planned. Together, the developments could transform the broader area between King Street East, Courtland Avenue and the Auditorium from an employment district into a high-density residential neighbourhood.
Kitchener’s planning committee supported the necessary amendments in June. However, the approval includes a holding provision connected to water capacity in the Mannheim service area. That provision would have to be lifted before the project could proceed.
No construction date has been announced. Considerable planning work remains before shovels can enter the ground, according to CityNews.
Twelve towers on one Waterloo property
At 446 Albert Street, north of Columbia Street, Waterloo council has approved what amounts to an entirely new high-rise community.
The plan contains 12 towers ranging from 11 to 26 storeys and more than 2,800 residential units. Ten buildings would have podiums capable of accommodating commercial or institutional tenants.
The project originally contained 13 towers. Following concerns about the shortage of green space, the developer removed one tower and added a park block at the northeast corner of the property.
Its scale is extraordinary. If fully constructed, the development could accommodate several thousand people on one site near Waterloo’s university district.
The proposed unit mix, however, is heavily weighted toward small apartments. More than 2,100 units are planned with one bedroom, while only 48 would have three bedrooms. Another 106 units—approximately three per cent of the development—are designated as affordable.
Plans include 1,171 vehicle parking spaces and 1,739 bicycle spaces.
The proposal has received planning approval, but a development of this scale would normally be built in multiple phases over many years. Construction timing has not been announced.
Details of the council approval were reported by CityNews.
A private tower beside an expanded public square
In Uptown Waterloo, plans are advancing to redevelop land immediately west of Waterloo Public Square.
Momentum Developments has proposed a 39-storey building with 412 homes near Erb Street West. If built according to the current concept, it could become Waterloo’s tallest building.
What makes the project unusual is the city’s direct role in assembling the property.
Waterloo expropriated the former Atrium property at 33 Erb Street after receiving approval from the Ontario Land Tribunal. The city argued that consolidating the land was necessary to support coordinated development, reorganize parking and expand public space.
The tribunal concluded that municipal ownership would allow for more comprehensive redevelopment and make construction on neighbouring privately owned land more likely.
The broader concept envisions two residential towers and a park beside Waterloo Public Square, potentially expanding the public gathering area while introducing hundreds of residents to the centre of Uptown.
It is not yet a construction-ready project. The 39-storey tower does not have final approval or a confirmed construction schedule, according to CityNews.
A long-awaited station designed around transfers, not parking
The Kitchener Central Transit Hub is different from the other projects because it is public transportation infrastructure rather than housing.
Planned near King and Victoria streets, the hub is intended to connect GO trains, Via Rail, ION light rail, Grand River Transit buses, intercity buses, cycling routes and pedestrian connections in one location.
The project’s defining feature is the intersection of several transportation systems. ION already passes beneath the railway line at the site, making it possible for passengers to move between regional rail and local rapid transit without travelling across downtown.
Unlike many suburban GO stations, the hub is not being designed around a large commuter parking lot. Its downtown location puts the emphasis on transfers, walking and cycling.
The Region of Waterloo says design and construction are being completed in partnership with Metrolinx. Public operations are anticipated to begin in late 2029, although major transportation projects frequently undergo schedule changes.
The hub has been discussed in various forms for more than a decade. Its latest design is more narrowly focused on transportation than some earlier concepts that contemplated substantial private development around the station.
The project also intersects with another difficult local issue. Regional property at 100 Victoria Street, currently occupied by an encampment, is required to support hub construction. The Region is appealing a court ruling preventing it from removing the residents.
How that legal and housing dispute is resolved could affect access to part of the site.
The Region maintains a project description and construction timeline online.
Affordable homes that remain affordable after resale
While towers dominate development discussions, a comparatively modest Kitchener project could test a different response to the housing crisis.
Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region plans to build more than 60 affordable homes on city-donated land near River Road East and Ottawa Street North. The Holborn Court development will include homes ranging from studios to four-bedroom units.
Unlike most affordable-housing projects, the units are intended for ownership rather than rental. They will be sold to income-qualified households, with restrictions designed to preserve affordability if the homes are later resold.
Kitchener donated the property, valued at approximately $5.5 million, and is waiving certain development fees. The project has obtained its required approvals and funding, according to the city.
Preliminary construction is expected to begin in fall 2026, with completion targeted for late 2028.
More information is available in the city’s July 2 announcement.
Ambitious plans meet an infrastructure limit
Collectively, the developments illustrate where Kitchener and Waterloo are heading: taller buildings, fewer mandatory parking spaces, more construction around transit and more attempts to combine housing with public land or infrastructure.
They also reveal a potential mismatch between the region’s ambitions and its ability to service them.
Water-supply constraints have already caused some development decisions to be deferred or approved with holding provisions. The Region is developing an allocation process to determine how available capacity will be distributed until system improvements are completed.
Consequently, residents may see striking renderings and council approvals long before they see construction cranes.
The fire-station complex and Habitat project have relatively defined schedules. The transit hub has a stated 2029 opening target. The Borden Avenue towers, Albert Street community and Uptown Waterloo tower could take considerably longer, and their final designs may change.
What makes the projects important now is not only whether every tower is built exactly as proposed. Together, they show how both cities are trying to fit thousands of additional residents, public facilities and transportation connections onto land that is already occupied, constrained or expensive.
The next phase of Kitchener-Waterloo’s growth will increasingly involve placing different uses on top of one another: homes over fire trucks, towers beside public squares and entire neighbourhoods on former industrial land.