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@Avenuer actually the "suburbs" around here are typically 4 to 5 acres in size in a street pattern similar to what you might find in a residential 'burb in the City, late 1900s vintage -- they are very popular. They are zoned to include small amounts of livestock so you see things like alpacas, goats, sheep and horses (there seems to be a lot of people collecting miniatures). I could see these as appendages to Alberta towns.
 
archited said:
@Avenuer actually the "suburbs" around here are typically 4 to 5 acres in size in a street pattern similar to what you might find in a residential 'burb in the City, late 1900s vintage -- they are very popular. They are zoned to include small amounts of livestock so you see things like alpacas, goats, sheep and horses (there seems to be a lot of people collecting miniatures). I could see these as appendages to Alberta towns.
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Those would be some huge lots for an urban area. Are the prices for homes like that quite expensive as a result?
 
IanO said:
As someone who grew up in the SW and went to those ~2006/07 open houses and to be here 15 years later with a


Having grown up in the SW, it certainly has a cachet and reputation as being incredibly desirable. The HHI, schools, access to the river, AHD, YEG are all very attractive to many.
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Yeah, we chose Terwillegar Towne when we moved here a year ago, rented for a bit and bought a home in the same neighborhood we were renting. Schools are great, my pre-Covid commute to the northwest where I work was 25 minutes (compared to 1:15 in Houston where we lived before), it takes me 5 minutes to ride to awesome Mountain Bike singletrack trails and a short 20 minute drive to White Av for dinner, bars, etc, there are three good shopping areas within a 15 minute drive (Gateway, South Commons, Windermere). These are all things people look in a neighborhood, specially when you are new to a city with no ties to any area.

I did not find Terwillegar to be that congested, I had more issues whenever I chose to take the Henday. The Terwillegar/Henday intersection is bad and is one of the reasons we did not want to go to Windermere. If you think about it another 5-10 minutes minutes to get through the three lights there plus another 10 minutes inside the neighborhood to get to the house will turn that 25 minute commute (.5 of a good podcast) into 40-50 minutes.

A BRT and improving some of the intersections and cycling routes may benefit me in the future if my kids decide to go to a different high school or to U of A.
 
Avenuer said:
Not bad at all considering the acreage-sized lots plus the sunny Californian weather!
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Yes, but Yankee dollars, remember. I still think there would be a market for small towns in Alberta (cranky as current residents might be). I have had dealings in the past with Vegreville, Camrose, Rocky Mountain House, Provost and Drumheller and -- on the surface at least -- they seemed like fine people, quite eager to advance their communities. The day is coming and it is almost here where you can live anywhere and perform your job tasks quite easily from wherever "anywhere" might be. Nature is a pretty strong competitor with Urban "disco", so I can see these places taking off in terms of growth. You should come over from the Dark-Side @Avenuer, you might like the view.
 
archited said:
Yes, but Yankee dollars, remember. I still think there would be a market for small towns in Alberta (cranky as current residents might be). I have had dealings in the past with Vegreville, Camrose, Rocky Mountain House, Provost and Drumheller and -- on the surface at least -- they seemed like fine people, quite eager to advance their communities. The day is coming and it is almost here where you can live anywhere and perform your job tasks quite easily from wherever "anywhere" might be. Nature is a pretty strong competitor with Urban "disco", so I can see these places taking off in terms of growth. You should come over from the Dark-Side @Avenuer, you might like the view.
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I'm an outdoorsy person, but I just know I'd despise having to drive long distances (relative to central Edmonton) in order to meet my daily needs, like grocery shopping.
 
Avenuer said:
I'm an outdoorsy person, but I just know I'd despise having to drive long distances (relative to central Edmonton) in order to meet my daily needs, like grocery shopping.
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Agree. There are two main metrics when choosing a house location TTD (time to dirt, as singletrack trails for hiking and mountain biking) and TTM (time to milk). I like both under 10 minutes, ideally 5. Milking my own cow will not work.
 
Airboy said:
Spawl is getting quite far in the far west end as well. Specifically west of Winterburn road and North to the Yellowhead.
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Yup - many new residential lots popping up as Rosenthal and Secord continue to grow towards 231 Street (the municipal boundary). Also, can't forget the isolated new neighbourhoods of Hawks Ridge, Starling, and Trumpeter north of YHT, west of the Henday and south of Big Lake. Those neighbourhoods really have few amenities at the moment, though I suspect more commercial development is on the horizon as the nearest full service grocery store is the Save On Foods all the way at Winterburn Road and Webber Greens Drive
 
Avenuer said:
Yup - many new residential lots popping up as Rosenthal and Secord continue to grow towards 231 Street (the municipal boundary). Also, can't forget the isolated new neighbourhoods of Hawks Ridge, Starling, and Trumpeter north of YHT, west of the Henday and south of Big Lake. Those neighbourhoods really have few amenities at the moment, though I suspect more commercial development is on the horizon as the nearest full service grocery store is the Save On Foods all the way at Winterburn Road and Webber Greens Drive
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Currently St Albert is closer for shopping. Fire service must come from south of 16A. There are also some pretty good Multi use trails from Trumpeter and along Ray Gibbons int St AL.
 
Avenuer said:
Yet, people still buy new houses there for some odd reason. I have yet to see the appeal of the SW over other areas of the city.
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I grew up in terwillegar and lived in windermere until I got married halfway through uni. Moved DT after that.

There is an appeal. The money and seemingly safer area is a draw for families...especially now that newer areas like windermere are more diverse in offerings with condos, townhomes, homes for 500k and lots for 1mil or more. If someone has 400k for a house, the SW is very attractive vs mature areas where 400 gets you a lot less house, thats a lot less pretty, with a lot more visible signs of crime and issues.

Now lifestyle wise...it wasn't for me. But I also still get the appeal. My dad own his owns financial firm and works from home and my mom is a caregiver for a few elderly people. Half their cul-de-sac is the same story. Rich people who work from home and own their own businesses with younger kids that can run around on the road. The schools are new, houses are modern. They don't worry about commuting to the core.

Sadly, the appeal is fair for many. And I fear covid will exasperate it more. All the more reason why we need a green belt and more taxes on new builds outside the henday. Our 50% infill goal won't happen without it i fear. 20 new houses per a mature neighbourhood each summer doesn't do anything compared to 3000 home developments in the south
 
I'm okay with southwest sprawl up to and encompassing the airport - it will help to psychologically connect the airport to the city, which is needed. Plus, it really makes a powerhouse suburban district for the City, which can be an amenity and a draw. (not to say that a strong downtown is not also required)
 
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