The

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

of Pleasantville in

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North Ame ...

is located in the east end of the city, directly north of the

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

. The neighbourhood extends from the north side of

Quidi Vidi Lake Quidi Vidi Lake is a long body of water located at the east end of the city of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. Local people commonly pronounce its name as ''kiddy viddy''. Overview Water flows into the lake from the Rennies and Virginia Riv ...

northward to Newfoundland Drive, and is largely made up of apartment blocks. A cricket field near Quidi Vidi Lake in Pleasantville served as a military training camp for the Blue Puttees of the Newfoundland Regiment during the month of September 1914, before troops left St. John's on the

SS Florizel SS ''Florizel'', a passenger liner, was the flagship of the Bowring Brothers' Red Cross Line of steamships and one of the first ships in the world specifically designed to navigate icy waters. During her last voyage, from St. John's, Newfoundla ...

. In addition, the men practiced skirmishes in an area just east of Quidi Vidi, known as White Hills. Pleasantville is home to a reserve base of the

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

and the Country Ribbon meat processing plant, as well as the former site of the Janeway Children's Hospital, now demolished. It includes Bally Haly Country Club. Most of the area was developed by the United States Military in 1941 and is the former site of

Fort Pepperrell A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

, later

Pepperrell Air Force Base Pepperrell Air Force Base, previously known as Fort Pepperrell, is a decommissioned United States military base located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland, Canada which operated from 1 ...

. The base closed in 1960, and in 1961 the land was transferred to the Canadian Government for use by the

Department of National Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

. Many of the buildings the US Military constructed in the area have since been either demolished or turned into government offices or residential units. The former American junior and senior high school building, initially opened for the 1956-57 school year, has been converted into condominiums. Pleasantville is now being redeveloped by

Canada Lands Company Canada Lands Company Limited () is a self-financing federal Crown corporation reporting to the Parliament of Canada through Public Services and Procurement Canada. The company is responsible for managing property on behalf of the federal gover ...

(CLC) into a residential neighbourhood.

Redevelopment

In 2006, Canada Lands Company, a federal

Crown corporation Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

, acquired the federal government's portion of the land with the plan to redevelop the area into a residential neighbourhood. After public consultations CLC applied to the city to construct 958 residential units and 5800 sq. m of commercial space. The residential units will include single family homes, townhouses, duplexes, multi-story units and an assisted living complex. The development also included a $101 million upgrade to the Canadian Forces Station which is located onside of the residential development. The city council approved the proposal in 2009, and progress began in 2010 on the redevelopment. As of August 2012, construction includes the new Department of National Defense building, a new luxury apartment building, and a variety of condominiums."Former Fort Pepperell site to be cleaned"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', November 22, 2011.

References

{{coord, 47, 35, 16, N, 52, 40, 50, W, display=title Neighbourhoods in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Populated coastal places in Canada

Redevelopment

See also

References