Urban living in Edmonton

[Coldrsx]

I was told that it is happening.

[EdmTrekker]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

My highly sophisticated poll.

After the addition of Ice District's grocery store, what is next most important to you to make Downtown more complete/livable.


@ianoyeg

An IKEA lol ... seriously a mid sized hardware store - don’t need lumber but do need tools, paint, basic plumbing and electrical, hardware like locks, door stuff, hinges etc. Enough to do a renovation.

[Harrison]

Originally Posted by EdmTrekker

An IKEA lol ... seriously a mid sized hardware store - don’t need lumber but do need tools, paint, basic plumbing and electrical, hardware like locks, door stuff, hinges etc. Enough to do a renovation.

We need the new Canadian Tire that Calgary got in the Beltline. That would be perfect.

[240glt]

Younger Canadians Not Interested In Raising Families In Condos: Study

A picket fence and a backyard are still the gold standard, even for millennials.

Canada's young families are giving up on the dream of owning a single-family home, but it's not out of a desire to live an urban high-rise life — the cost has simply become too prohibitive.

That's the key takeaway from a new study carried out by Sotheby's International Realty Canada, which found that, if money were no object, 83 per cent of young families would buy a detached home as opposed to any other type of housing. Only 5 per cent prefer condos.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/1...ef=ca-homepage

[Coldrsx]

Is that surprising to anyone?

[s211]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Is that surprising to anyone?

Not really. For good and less good reasons, a city should maintain as wide a variety of housing choices as can be accommodated.

[Coldrsx]

Exactly. While I am a devout Downtowner, I completely understand why single-family housing is desired.

[YEGman]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Exactly. While I am a devout Downtowner, I completely understand why single-family housing is desired.

...and one would hope motor vehicle commuting!!

[Coldrsx]

That is less desirable.

[240glt]

Originally Posted by YEGman

...and one would hope motor vehicle commuting!!

I don't have a problem with encouraging more transit use, I really hope with the bus route re-alignment and the expansion of the LRT that we finally get something that actually resembles a half decent larger city transit system.

Unfortunately we have some individuals here that are hell bent on turning almost every infrastructure project in the city into a social engineering exercise that is bound to fail. Until these clueless individuals stop dreaming up fantastical ways to get everyone living in an apartment on an LRT line and start appreciating exactly what the LRT is supposed to be they'll continue to be disappointed.

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...is-a-fancy-toy

[Urban recluse]

The periphery of downtown can accommodate many townhomes.

[Coldrsx]

If anyone is interested...we are hosting a workshop on a variety of topics that impact living, working, existing Downtown and in Central Edmonton.

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/downtown...on-51766258272

[Regina Boi]

So I've been weighing my options as to where I would like to buy a condo and live. I keep getting drawn back again and again to Boyle street.

There are lots of reasons for this. The city and the province have been investing lots of money in the area, the new Valley Line will come through the area, the river is very close. It looks like private investment is again starting up with a few large condo developments now under construction, plus downtown is so close. I'll also mention that I can literally buy a decent condo almost on my line of credit.

I'm not naive. I know the area still has a lot of growing pains, and that will take time. I'm wondering if anyone here is living in the area or is planning on moving to the area?

I would love to hear some first hand opinions and observations.

Thanks!!

[Coldrsx]

The area is certainly in transition, new investment is happening, it is on the right path, but it still has a significant amount of social/fundamental issues that it struggles with and that won't change overnight. As mentioned, it certainly has improved, does have a lot of reasons to want to live there, but do more due diligence and go walk the area to understand it better.

[mintzilla]

^^Yeah you would have to be really desperate to willingly move to that location. Don’t do it.

[240glt]

Originally Posted by Regina Boi

So I've been weighing my options as to where I would like to buy a condo and live. I keep getting drawn back again and again to Boyle street.

There are lots of reasons for this. The city and the province have been investing lots of money in the area, the new Valley Line will come through the area, the river is very close. It looks like private investment is again starting up with a few large condo developments now under construction, plus downtown is so close. I'll also mention that I can literally buy a decent condo almost on my line of credit.

I'm not naive. I know the area still has a lot of growing pains, and that will take time. I'm wondering if anyone here is living in the area or is planning on moving to the area?

I would love to hear some first hand opinions and observations.

Thanks!!

I assume you’re looking at condo apartments north of 103A ave in & around 93 street. Yes there are a lot of places for sale and even in one of the better buildings in the area I see a top floor 1br in good shape for $80k. That’s pretty cheap for being right next to downtown.

The area has issues and they’re not going away anytime soon. I lived just north east of there by Stadium LRT station for ten years, really liked the neighbourhood and close to everything, good neighbors but there was still a fair amount of issues, riff raff and petty crime so you had to be aware of it. Boyle Street is a lot worse than Parkdale so you’ll need to deal with that. It’s not necessarily terrible in there but you’ll have a lot of issues with petty crime & general disorder. The nice thing is if you are looking to buy right now places in that area don’t have a lot of room to devalue further. Condos in better central areas are falling in price. They’ll also be the first to rebound when the market picks up.

I think there are better places to buy & live. If I was looking for a cheap central condo apartment I’d look at a few of the older buildings in places like Forest Heights or Strathern. You can get into those for under $150k. If you want to stay north of the river look at the concrete mid rise in Parkdale on 112ave & 85st. There’s also places for close to $100k in Oliver if you don’t mind a crappy old walk up.

[Harrison]

I have been eyeing up the few houses in Boyle Street for a potential first time home purchase. Have also been looking in McCauley as well as the areas just north of 112 Avenue. I feel these neighbourhoods offer great value for single family houses as you can find many under $250,000 and even $200,000. Definitely aware of the underlying issues with petty crime, poverty, etc.

[SHOFEAR]

Harrison, are you planning on having kids at some point down the road? My opinion on getting a good deal in a shittier neighborhood changed when the wife started to look at school rankings.

We paid a premium for our house. You could buy the same late 70's/early 80's vintage in Millwoods or Castledowns for 50 grand less. Surrounding ourselves with people willing to pay that premium has it's advantages....schools being one of the biggest. It's not the politically correct motive to have....but whatever. The only battle I have with my neighbours is it's a race to get out in the morning and shovel each others sidewalk.

I get that this isn't the advice your looking for, but what i'm trying to get at is to look beyond your priorities you have right now and think long term. Bang for your buck shouldn't be your first priority.

[Harrison]

^

No immediate plans now, but there is definitely the possibility long-term.

Why do schools tend to perform poorly in lower-income neighbourhoods? You'd think that public schools province-wide would receive equitable funding regardless of demographics.

[Coldrsx]

Volunteers, nutrition, rest, health, social issues at home...