Renfrew is a residential neighbourhood in the northeast quadrant of Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. It is located south of the

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, and north of the

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

community of Bridgeland. To the east it is bordered by the ''Nose Hill Creek'' and the

Deerfoot Trail Deerfoot Trail is a freeway segment of Highway 2 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It stretches the entire length of the city from south to north and links suburbs to downtown via Memorial Drive and 17 Avenue SE. The freewa ...

and is separated from Crescent Heights to the west by Edmonton Trail. It is represented in the

Calgary City Council The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 202 ...

by the Ward 9 councillor. The area consists mainly of residences with no major commercial or industrial facilities. There are some small businesses located along Edmonton Trail and 16th Avenue. There are no emergency health care facilities in the district, though several physicians' offices have been established, and the Alberta Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Commission does have a treatment facility established in the neighbourhood. In 2014 Renfrew was listed as #22 on Avenue Magazine's "50 Best Neighbourhoods" list, a ranking of desirability of Calgary's neighbourhoods.

History

Ukrainian Pioneer Park is located on the 600 block of 7th Avenue, and there are two Ukrainian churches (one Catholic and one Orthodox) in close proximity, a testament to early settlers of Slavic origin who settled in the area. Other visible signs of this heritage include a monument to victims of genocide in Ukraine, erected by the banks of the Bow River in the adjacent community of Bridgeland. The community itself was not developed until the 1940s. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the area was occupied by a

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

training base and airfield which also served as the Calgary airport. Once the airport was relocated from its original site (on the corner of present-day 6th Street and Regal Crescent), the area was developed for residential use.

Demographics

In the City of Calgary's 2012 municipal census, Renfrew had a population of living in dwellings, a 3.1% increase from its 2011 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2012. Residents in this community had a

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...

of $47,692 in 2000, and there were 15.6% low income residents living in the neighbourhood. As of 2000, 18.4% of the residents were immigrants. A proportion of 38.5% of the buildings were condominiums or apartments, and 40.9% of the housing was used for

renting Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for a ...

Education

Several major schools are located in the district, including Colonel Macleod Junior High, St. Alphonsus Elementary/Junior High, Stanley Jones Elementary, and the former Renfrew Elementary.

Amenities

A full-sized football field is located at Renfrew Athletic Park. Parkland and greenspace are not abundant with the exception of the school grounds, and the area adjacent to Nose Hill creek, which includes the McInnis & Holloway Memorial Forest still in its infancy. Other athletic facilities in addition to the schools include the Boys & Girls Club, a swimming pool, indoor skating rink, an outdoor skating rink at the community association building, and soccer fields located by the creek. A

Mr. Sub Mr. Sub (stylized MR.SUB), originally called Mr. Submarine before the 1990s, is a Canadian chain of over 200 submarine sandwich shops. The first store was opened in 1968 in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood, which was then known for its "hip ...

outlet has been in continuous operation in its present 16th Avenue location since the 1970s. The neighbourhood is also serviced by a KFC outlet on 13th Avenue. Renfrew has also become home to several notable dining establishments including Boogies Burgers (est. 1969), sustainably sourced seafood restaurant Big Fish, and the 2012 Where to Dine winner for Best Brunch, OEB Breakfast CO. Several convenience stores are clustered in the western portion of the neighbourhood, including the Stanley Jones grocery, occupying one of the oldest surviving structures in the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood is in direct proximity to several commercial zones, including shops along Edmonton Trail and Centre Street in adjacent Crescent Heights and Bridgeland, along 16th Avenue to the north and west, and across the bridge in Mayland Heights. The downtown core is only 3,000 metres from Renfrew and easily accessible by city transit, bike, private automobile, or foot.

References

External links