Northeast’s Lake District is where the action is
New and old rub shoulders in northeast
Edmonton’s northeast — the area north of Yellowhead Trail and east of 97th Street — is a thriving sector of the city. Some neighbourhoods are just getting started. Others are only a few years old. Still others are decades-old character neighbourhoods. Whatever you’re looking for, you can find it in the northeast, without being remote from the city centre.
Mallory Hebert and her husband Marc moved there three months ago.
“We’re so glad we’re in the northeast,” she says. The couple chose to buy their first home in Kilkenny, near 144th Avenue and 82nd Street, because the area has “affordable, good-sized homes in older neighbourhoods with large yards and great access to amenities.”
Driving through the northeast district, it’s easy to see that those amenities include two bustling business corridors—137thAvenueand97th Street — packed with shops and services, bars and restaurants. Residents may never need to head downtown, but if they do, 97th Street provides a straight route into the city core. As Hebert puts it, “I really enjoy the feeling of living in the suburbs and still being only 10 kilometres to downtown.” For quick connections to other parts of the city, Anthony Henday Drive, Yellowhead Trail and Manning Drive are minutes away.
Hebert plans to make northeast Edmonton home for the long term. “It’s my little slice of paradise, where I have privacy, space and easy access to all the ‘city’ things I like to do without living on busy, cramped streets.” She also enjoys outdoor activities in the area. “I really like going over to Hermitage Park and walking my dog in the snow along the river.”
For people seeking a newer neighbourhood, Schonsee is a small, quiet community tucked into northeast Edmonton’s Lake District, between 167th and 173rd avenues and 82nd and 66th streets. The City of Edmonton website notes that “neighbourhoods in the Lake District have names referring to lakes in different languages.” Schonsee comes from two German words: “schon,” which means beautiful, and “see,” which means lake.
Schonsee is a convenient choice for military families; CFB Edmonton is only about 15 km away.
Since the neighbourhood is already partially established and integrated into older parts of the northeast, transit routes already service the area. Recreation venues are available in and around Schonsee. A proposed park, scheduled to be developed by 2016, will include a playground, hockey rinks and basketball courts. In the meantime, Poplar District Park is on 167th Avenue and 82nd Street. Londonderry Arena and Londonderry Leisure Centre are close by and even the Clareview Recreation Centre — with its pool, waterslide, fitness centre and walking/jogging track — is only 15 minutes away.
Located on the western side of Schonsee between 82nd and 76th Streets, The Village at Schonsee by BedrockHomesofferstwo-storey and bungalow houses. Bedrock Homes participates in the voluntary “BuiltGreen” program, so its homes built during or after 2013 are certified “energy efficient and environmentally responsible.” Features include high-efficiency hot-water tanks, insulated hot-water lines, highefficiency furnaces and triple-pane windows.
Prices range from $409,000 to over $500,000 including the lot and GST. Area manager Antoinette Jurasz explains that homebuyers who purchase now can expect “10 to 12 months to build, from time of purchase to possession. We also offer a number of pre-designed quickpossession homes.” Duplex, triplex and fourplex homes will also be available next spring.
Jurasz notes that typical homeowners in the community include first-time buyers and move-up buyers, essentially anyone “looking for a centrally located community with all amenities within walking distance.” One of the community’s highlights — almost in the middle — is the lake with walking paths and benches for quiet relaxation. For those who want to be even closer to green space, some lots back onto a park for a lovely view.
On the eastern side of the community, The Terrace at Schonsee by Brookfield Residential Properties is near the 42-acre Schonsee Wetland and natural recreation area. Peter Tsoukalas, senior development manager, says that the name “Terrace” was chosen “to reflect that the community is ‘next to or above’ the Schonsee Wetland (and) recognize … how integral it will be to the overall community — the perfect place for any family to live, play and grow.”
The Terrace features single-family homes and duplexes. Potential buyers can choose a home ready for immediate possession or work with a builder — City Homes Master Builder, Coventry Homes Master Builder, Jayman MasterBUILT or Sterling Homes — to build from scratch. Prices start in the low $300,000s for semidetached homes and in the $400,000s for single-family homes (including lot but not GST). Tsoukalas says that the company included duplexes “to cater to a wider market by offering a range of housing choice and styles at various price points.”
For a neighbourhood that’s well connected to the rest of the city with abundant shops and services, northeast Edmontonmayjustbetheplace. Perhaps like Hebert, you’ll be able to “check everything off on (your) home-buying wish list without having to compromise at all.”