Next stop: New Westminster.

TransLink's corporate headquarters and the Transit Police will be relocating to New Westminster in early 2013. They'll be moving into the Brewery District development that's currently being built by the Wesgroup Properties in Sapperton, on a site that's adjacent to Royal Columbian Hospital and the Sapperton SkyTrain station.

About 500 TransLink and Transit Police staff will be involved. Moving day is expected to be in January 2013.

"The timing for us is perfect," said Mayor Wayne Wright. "Completion is 2013. All the infrastructure is done in there. They are prepared to start right away."

The city's livable city strategy, an economic development plan, expressed a need to have corporate offices set up shop in New Westminster

"It's been on the wish list," Wright said. "Now it is happening. I am ecstatic."

Wright said city staff, the police service and the police board have been working on the plan for a considerable amount of time, recognizing the benefits of having a major corporate office in New Westminster.

"It legitimizes the city," Wright said about TransLink's decision to move to New Westminster. "That's been hard for us to get."

A building currently under construction at the Brewery District site will be home to Thrifty Foods and TD Canada Trust. TransLink will be located in a building to be built nearby.

"TransLink's lease at its current Metrotown location is due to expire at the end of January 2013, which provided an opportunity to look at options," said Doug Kelsey, TransLink's executive vice-president. "At the same time, the Transit Police must be relocated into a better facility - they are spread out into two separate buildings, neither of which meets seismic standards required for an operation that would have a critical emergency response role."

In addition to operating efficiencies, TransLink expects to save $430,000 annually over its current costs. The design of the building will allow TransLink to function more efficiently on less space than it now occupies.

"That, plus the cost savings involved in sharing common facilities with the Transit Police, are the main reasons we'll end up with lower annual expenses; enough in fact to buy a new bus every year," Kelsey said in a news release.

Wright said TransLink and the Transit Police decision to relocate to Sapperton is a positive for that neighbourhood. It's already home to Royal Columbian Hospital.

"That particular area becomes a hub, the most employed area of the city," he said. "You are talking about it being a little town centre itself."