Woodcroft community set to undergo rejuvenation

By Kimberly Melo

WOODCROFT — Woodcroft is set to undergo rejuvenation as a part of the city of Edmonton’s neighbourhood renewal project.

The reconstruction is to begin in the spring of 2012 and will be a two-year process. Consultation for reconstruction in Woodcroft began in 2011, and a final meeting between property owners and the city of Edmonton, on Nov. 23, sealed the deal.

The renewal project will include reconstruction of pavement, replacement of curbs and gutters, replacement of sidewalks and upgrading the standard street lighting in the area bounded by 118 Avenue on the north, Groat Road on the East, 111 Avenue on the South and 142 Street on the west.

The conceptual cost of the renovations will be $20 million, according to the City of Edmonton website.

“This neighbourhood reconstruction is part of a larger program trying to reduce the number of neighbourhoods under the need of repair,” said Adam Laughlin, director the neighborhood renewal program.

“We are targeting neighbourhoods that have been built in the ‘50s or ‘60s and are in need of reconstruction.”

Despite the amount of money the City of Edmonton is devoting to the neighbourhood renewal project, residents are facing a tax increase to help cover costs.

The roughly $2,500 in taxes that each homeowner will have to pay can be extended over a 15-year period, which will not make a detrimental financial impact on residents, said Patricia Grell, a homeowner and resident of Woodcroft since 2005.

“(The renovation project) will increase property value,” said Grell.

She is eagerly awaiting the rejuvenation of a neighbourhood that she takes great pride in.

“It is going to make the community so much nicer,” Grell said.

Fifty-five per cent of single-family dwellings in Woodcroft are rented, according to Edmonton statistics.

“It makes for a transient population,” said Grell. “It is hard to meet your neighbours if they are always coming and going. It also causes a lack of home ownership pride.”

Grell has nothing against renters in the area, and some devout community members have been longtime renters in Woodcroft. However, her goal for the community, after the renovations, is to have landowners want to move back to Woodcroft and live there permanently.

“My goal is to have homeowners come home to Woodcroft,” said Grell. “We are doing a lot of work as a community league to beautify the neighbourhood.”

Although more than half of Woodcroft’s residents were supportive of having their taxes go up to help fund upgrades that are not covered by the city, such as decorative street lighting, there are still a few residents who are against the tax increase, according to Grell who personally went door to door to collect signatures.

Woodcroft residents can anticipate the completion of these renovations near the end of 2013.

West Edmonton communities Rio Terrace, West Jasper Place and Canora are also up for the neighbourhood renewal project.