Edmonton 536-acre housing project under way
January 19, 2021
Photo credit: Blatchford, City of Edmonton
The City of Edmonton is developing the massive Blatchford residential community on a 536-acre site close to its downtown that once housed the City Centre airport.
The first residents began moving into homes January 2021 on the west side of the neighbourhood, which can accommodate up to 400 townhouses. Currently, 52 lots developed by the City of Edmonton have been sold to builders and negotiations are ongoing to sell the other parcels for construction over the course of 2021.
Current active builders include Encore Master Builder, Mutti Homes, Ocheller by RedBrick, and Carbon Busters.
The city is looking long-term because the build-out may take 20 years or more before Blatchford is home to its projected 30,000 residents. The ultra-green development will consist of a variety of housing options as well as a retail village with commercial space, according to the City of Edmonton.
The long-planned Blatchford development appears to be launching at an opportune time, despite the pandemic, but it may face headwinds this year.
Total residential sales in Greater Edmonton for December 2020 increased approximately 31.5 per cent compared to December 2019, but were down 20 per cent from November 2020. Overall Edmonton inventory fell 17 per cent from December of 2019 and decreased 19 per cent from November 2020, according to the Realtor Association of Edmonton.
Altus Group warns that Edmonton’s relatively strong housing market could slow in 2020, however, especially in the condominium sector. A key reason is Alberta’s slumping immigration, which turned negative in the second half of 2020 for the first time since the 1990s.
