First families have landed in Edmonton's historic Blatchford development
Emily Fitzpatrick | CBC News | Posted: August 11, 2021 1:00 PM | Last Updated: August 11, 2021
‘It's peaceful. It's a little bit eerie at times, but that'll fill in fairly soon’
It's been almost a decade since Edmonton's City Centre Airport closed down its runways, making way for the demolition of the downtown airport and its subsequent rebirth as a new, central community.
In the last few weeks, there's been a hum of activity with multiple families — the first residents of Blatchford community — simultaneously unpacking and moving into their new homes, all of them keen to meet their new neighbours.
"We had a dog's birthday party, we had a kid's birthday party and all of that within two weeks," said Alexia Wright, whose family has been settling into one of the first completed townhomes in the middle of the 536-acre neighbourhood.
The three-bedroom home, complete with a secondary suite, contains a sleek interior, with large windows looking out onto an active construction site and a shipping container for a garage.
Watch | Residents excited for their future in the community:
Home to 30,000
City Centre Airport, located south of Yellowhead Trail bounded by Princess Elizabeth Avenue and Kingsway, had a rich history. It began as Blatchford Field in 1927 and two years later became Canada's first licensed airfield. The airport operated until 2013.
When the neighbourhood is fully built, the city expects about 30,000 people — which is roughly the population of Leduc — will make it their home.
But for now, only 100 or so people are living in the 21 completed dwellings. There are 24 more under construction.
"Lots of people have been passing by as community tourists looking for signs of life," Scott Wright said. "There's a pedestrian walkway out front and the kids on our street have been getting to know each other.
"It's peaceful. It's a little bit eerie at times, but that'll fill in fairly soon."
The family bought into the neighbourhood two years ago, not knowing quite what to expect.
While they admit the current area is not for everyone, they're enjoying watching the neighbourhood grow around them.
"Lots of exciting stuff is appearing out of nowhere," he said.
"I think as soon as you've got a few blocks filled in here, people will start to feel like it's a really fully active neighbourhood. And we're already getting that feel just on the street."
The city first started talking about developing the area in 2008 and city council passed the plan to redevelop in 2012.
It's been a long journey from then to now, according to the city's director of renewable energy systems Christian Felske who has been working on the project for about four-and-a-half years.
- Blatchford renewable energy utility ready to go
- First townhomes in Blatchford development now for sale, city says
- 'World class' green neighbourhood steams ahead at Blatchford
"Blatchford shall be a carbon-neutral development entirely powered by renewable energy," said Felske.
"So that's quite an ambitious vision for this land, but something which is really important given the times we're living in right now."
This week, the city announced construction is planned for 47 new units.
NAIT also purchased six per cent of the land to expand its campus.
Alexia Wright said the family never imagined living in a new home, because most are located toward the outskirts of the city.
"Because it's so removed, but yet not removed at all, you do feel like you're on holiday somewhere in an Airbnb," she said. "But you're in the middle of the city."