Edmonton Alberta - Southside neighbourhoods may finally see some movement to redevelop the 32-hectare Canadian Pacific rail yard south of Whyte Avenue.
 
On Tuesday, the South Edmonton Yard was named as the largest of 30 surplus sites "poised for development" when the rail company announced a new partnership with Dream Unlimited Corporation.
 
Together they will form Dream Van Horne Properties, a nod to early CP president William Van Horne.
 
Dream Unlimited Corporation is a Toronto-based real estate developer focused on residential properties, renewable energy infrastructure, and commercial real estate.
 
The two companies will spend the next six months assessing each site.
 
"There is the potential to start development as early as next year but it will take some time," said Canadian Pacific spokesman Jeremy Berry.
 
A corporate presentation for investors says potential uses include high density residential, retail, and an office park.
 
Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson said CP will have to work with the city on any redevelopment plans for the land.
 
"We have been waiting for a long time for a sense of what Canadian Pacific wanted to do with that yard south of Argyll," he said.
 
"I'm very excited for the city being able to work with them. It's not going to happen overnight."
 
South side neighbourhoods have long seen the rail yard as an eyesore and traffic barrier.
 
The long, narrow parcel of land cuts across 76th Avenue, eliminating what could otherwise be a key east-west connection in the area.
 
When businesses and community advocates ask for limits to traffic on Whyte Avenue, even for the duration of a festival, the lack of alternative east-west connections is often cited as a key reason to keeping festivals on the sidewalk.
 
"I'm excited about it. It's got huge potential," said Murray Davison, executive director of the Old Strathcona Business Association.
 
"For us, what's really important is that connection on 76th Avenue. That's a complaint we hear all the time. Creating a link through there would alleviate some congestion on Whyte Avenue, too," he said.
 
The rail yard itself has some interesting historic buildings that could be incorporated into a really neat mixed residential market district, he said.
 
"It's a huge space. But until we know more, it's just a dream."
 
Even if development takes years, Tuesday's announcement marks a major change is CP's public approach to the land.
 
Until now, Canadian Pacific has said it had no plans to develop or sell the site.
 
In 2012, when the city wrote a development plan for the area, Canadian Pacific said it had no plans to close the rail yards for 60 years at least.
 
There was a flurry of excitement at city hall last September when the company started to pull up the tracks, but even then, the company was still saying it had no plans to close the yard.
 
"No aspect of our operation has changed," CP's Salam Woodrow told the Journal then.
 
Berry said CP will be consulting with the municipality and local residents as plans progress. "It's definitely early stages," he said.
 
The real estate portfolio to be developed by Dream Van Horne Properties also includes a 1.2-hectare plot in downtown Montreal, a 30-hectare location in Chicago, and a 30-hectare site near Toronto.

Elise Stolte.