Westmount is an established central-west residential neighbourhood in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is geographically close to the

downtown core The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with many integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive build ...

. The neighbourhood is bounded by 111 Avenue to the north, Groat Road to the west, the Groat Ravine to the southwest, and the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventual ...

valley to the south. Its eastern boundary comprises 124 Street south of Stony Plain Road, and 121 Street north of Stony Plain Road. The southern portion of the neighbourhood is also known as Groat Estates. The community is represented by the Westmount

Community League A neighborhood council (also known as a community league) is a governmental or non-governmental body, whose purpose is to promote citizen participation in local government.Martin Minogue, ''Documents on Contemporary British Government: Volume 2, L ...

, established in 1951, which maintains a

community hall Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

and outdoor rink located at 127 Street and 109 Avenue.

History

The neighbourhood was developed originally in the 1910s as a professional neighbourhood catering to young people. Prior to the end of

World War II 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 opposin ...

, one in four (25.6%) of the current residences were constructed. Another quarter of the current residences (23.6%) were constructed between the end of World War II and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

. One in three residences (35.8%) were constructed between

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

. A small portion were constructed after 1980. Many houses in the neighbourhood have been renovated, and some are being replaced with newer and larger houses.

Demographics

In the City of Edmonton's 2012 municipal census, Westmount had a population of living in dwellings, a -0.8% change from its 2009 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of people/km² in 2012.

Residential development

The large majority of the Westmount area is occupied by single family detached houses. This includes a large number of historic homes, often in the Craftsman or

Four Square Four square is a team sport played among two teams with two players each on a square court divided into four quadrants: A, B, C, and D (usually numbers 3, 4, 2, and 1, respectively, depending on the court.) The square that a player gets to befo ...

styles, in the Westmount Architectural Heritage Area (WAHA) and the Groat Estates area. The WAHA is bound by 107 Ave in the south, 127 St in the west, 124 St in the east, and 111 Ave in the north. The Groat Estates are a peninsular shaped area in the southwest portion of Westmount, bound by 107 St in the north, 124 St in the east, the meandering

Groat Road Groat Road is a major roadway in Edmonton, Alberta. It is named after Malcolm Groat, a former Hudson's Bay Company employee who settled in the present-day Groat Estates area in the 1880s. Groat Road is part of a continuous roadway that runs thro ...

Ravine in the west and southwest and the

Valley in the south. 124 Street, a major shopping destination, runs North-South through the east side of Westmount, and includes a number of

mixed-use development Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

s and

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

s. Thus, in terms of residential units, the most common type of residence, according to the 2005 municipal census, is a mixture of

rented 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 ...

s and apartment style condominiums (54%). Single-family dwellings are the next most common (42%).

Duplexes A duplex house plan has two living units attached to each other, either next to each other as townhouses, condominiums or above each other like apartments. By contrast, a building comprising two attached units on two distinct properties is ...

account for another 3% of residences, and other types or residence account for the remaining 1%. The trend is increasing home ownership over time; in 1986, 41% of private dwellings were owned by the occupant, and by 2001 52% were owned by the occupant.http://censusdocs.edmonton.ca/DD34/MultiSource/Neighbourhood/WESTMOUNT.pdf Most recently, 54% are owner-occupied, with the remaining 46% being rented.http://censusdocs.edmonton.ca/C05002/MUNICIPAL%202005/Neighbourhood/WESTMOUNT.pdf

People

Over 60% of Westmount adult residents have attended college or university. In terms of highest educational attainment, the largest proportion of residents have obtained a University bachelor's degree or higher, and this is an increasing trend (16.4% in 1986, 21.4% in 1996, 26.5% in 2001). Average residential income is also on the rise, from $40,001 in 1996 to $52,801 in 2001. According to the 2005 municipal census, 22.8% of residents had moved in the previous year, 27.4% had moved in the previous one to three years, and 48.6% had lived in the neighbourhood for more than three years.

Schools

The Westmount area is served by a number of pre-schools and schools. Discovery Time Preschool, run as a parent co-operative, operates educational programs for children aged three to five. Westglen Elementary School, on the same block, is operated by the Edmonton Public School System. Westglen includes an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program, and has a strong environmental commitment, in 2008 being named an Earth III school - "the first school in Alberta and the third in Canada to achieve this status" There are after-school care and childcare centres on the same block. There are additional schools in the surrounding neighbourhoods, including Westmount Junior High School in Inglewood, Westminster Junior High School in Glenora, and

Ross Sheppard High School Ross Sheppard High School or École Ross Sheppard (SHEP or Ross Shep) is a high school located in a northwest neighbourhood of Coronation Park, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The school colours are Colombia blue and navy blue, and it is represent ...

in Woodcroft. The

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

is just across the river via Groat Road. St. Mark Junior High School is also in the area, 500 metres north of Westmount Mall in Woodcroft.

Amenities and shopping

Nearby attractions include

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

in Glenora, Coronation Park and the Telus World of Science in Woodcroft. There are several shopping areas in the neighbourhood, including art/retail/commercial districts along 124 Street, and two small upscale shopping centres on 102 Avenue. In addition,

Westmount Centre Westmount Centre is a shopping mall located in the Woodcroft neighborhood of Edmonton. It opened in 1955 and is owned by First Capital Realty. Anchors * Safeway * The Home Depot (opened 2008 in former Blockbuster and Scotiabank locations) * D ...

, a major shopping mall, is located just to the north west of the neighbourhood in Woodcroft. Groat Road also provides access to other destinations on the south side including

Whyte Avenue Whyte (82) Avenue is an arterial road in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It became the main street of the City of Strathcona as it formed, and now runs through Old Strathcona. It was named in 1891 after Sir William Whyte, who was s ...

and

Old Strathcona Old Strathcona is a historic district in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Once the commercial core of the separate city of Strathcona, the area is now home to many of Edmonton's arts and entertainment facilities, as well as a local s ...

Parks, green spaces and recreation

Westmount Park occupies three blocks in the heart of Westmount. It includes an outdoor hockey rink, baseball diamonds, soccer fields, a fitness centre, a water-spray park, several playgrounds and the schools noted above. Westmount also contains several smaller parks with a mix of green space and playgrounds. A raised cycling route runs along 127 Street, and a completely separate pedestrial/cycling trail runs along the eastern edge of the neighbourhood, at 121 Street.

Surrounding neighbourhoods

References

External links

Westmount Neighbourhood Profile

Discovery Time Preschool

Westglen Day Care

Westglen Elementary School

Westmount Junior High School

Westmount Community League
{{Edmonton neighbourhoods Neighbourhoods in Edmonton