Wildwood is a primarily residential neighbourhood located in the southeast part of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada. It includes part of the 8th Street business district. The majority of its residents live in a townhouse or apartment-style multiple unit dwellings, with a sizeable minority of low-density, single detached dwellings. As of 2016, the area is home to 7,645 residents. The neighbourhood has an average family income of $37,770, a homeownership rate of 67.0% and an average home sale price of $300,327.

History

Before being part of Saskatoon, the land for Wildwood was used for agriculture. It includes part of the Sutherland Moraine, a ridge that forms a local topographic high. George Stephenson, who ranched in the Dundurn area in the 1880s, operated a dairy farm along 8th Street until 1911. The intersection of 8th Street and Central Avenue (now Acadia Drive) was referred to as "Stephenson's Corner" for many years. The streetcar line from Saskatoon to

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

ran east down 8th Street and turned north into Sutherland. The Wildwood Golf Course existed before any residential development occurred. It opened on July 1, 1931, and was Saskatoon's first golf course. As well, the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association operated a racing oval on land between the present-day Moss Avenue and McKercher Drive. In 1968, the SSRCA had to find another home when the City of Saskatoon announced its intention to expand eastward and annex the land. The land where Wildwood now exists was annexed in the period between 1970 and 1974, and the golf course's name was chosen for the name of the new neighbourhood. Home construction was at its peak from 1971 until 1980. Wildwood School opened on May 9, 1978. Bishop Pocock School opened in 1978, and the Lakewood Civic Centre was opened in 1988.

Government and politics

Wildwood exists within the federal electoral district of

Saskatoon—Grasswood Saskatoon South (formerly Saskatoon—Grasswood) is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. It encompasses most of the portions ...

. It is currently represented by

Kevin Waugh Kevin Waugh (born June 9, 1956) is a Canadian politician and former television sports journalist. Waugh was first elected to represent the riding of Saskatoon—Grasswood in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 Canadian federal election ...

of the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

, first elected in 2015. Provincially, the area is divided by Heritage Crescent into the constituencies of

Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. It was first contested in the 2016 election. The district was created out of parts of Saskatoon Greystone, Saskatoon Eastv ...

and

Saskatoon Southeast Saskatoon Southeast is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. Since a boundary redraw in 2022, it currently encompasses the Saskatoon neighbourhoods of Lakeridge, Briarwood, Lakewood, Rosewood, ...

. Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood is currently represented by

Lisa Lambert Lisa Lambert (born December 1962 in Washington, D.C.) is an actress, comedy writer, and Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway th ...

of the

Saskatchewan Party The Saskatchewan Party (SP or Sask Party) is a conservative political party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was founded in 1997 by a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservative ...

since 2016. Saskatoon Southeast is currently represented by

Don Morgan Don Morgan (born 1951) is a Canadian provincial politician. He was the Saskatchewan Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan (MLA) for the constituency of Saskatoon Southeast from 2003 until 2024. Along with Donna Harpauer, h ...

of the

since 2003. In Saskatoon's non-partisan municipal politics, Wildwood lies within ward 9. It is currently represented by Councillor Bev Dubois, first elected in 2016.

Institutions

Education

*Bishop Pocock School - separate (Catholic) elementary, part of

Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) is Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan's largest Catholic school division and the third largest school system in the province. Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools has approximately 22,000 students, with 53 school ...

*Cliff Wright Branch Library - officially opened on January 9, 1989, as part of the Lakewood Civic Centre. * Wildwood School - public elementary, part of the

Saskatoon Public School Division Saskatoon Public Schools (SPS) or Saskatoon S.D. No. 13 is the largest school division in Saskatchewan serving 28,924 students as of September 2024. Saskatoon Public Schools operates 47 elementary schools, one alliance school (Charles Red Hawk ...

Public Safety

* Fire Station #6 - covers the southeast area of Saskatoon. This hall has a one captain and four

firefighters A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

that work on each of the four shifts.

Parks and recreation

*Heritage Green - *Heritage Park - *Lakewood Park, district section - *Wildwood Park - *Lakewood Park, multi-district section - Parts of Lakewood Park are landscaped with natural prairie grassland vegetation. As well, the park contains a constructed wetland area, designed to remove pollutants from stormwater and control runoff. The wetland's waters and native plants in turn provide habitat for native aquatic animals, insects, and birds. The Wildwood Community Association coordinates recreational programs and social activities, maintains the park and outdoor rink, and promotes the well-being of residents. The volunteer-run association also provides a voice for the community on issues of local concern. The Lakewood Civic Centre houses a swimming pool and waterslide, fitness facilities, meeting and recreational space, and the Cliff Wright Branch Library all in one facility. The Wildwood Golf Course is an 18-hole course that has an intermediate level of play. It includes a practice green, pro shop and coffee shop.

Commercial

Wildwood's northern border includes the eastern end of the 8th Street business district. Predating Wildwood's residential development to the south, the County Fair Plaza shopping centre operated at Circle Drive and 8th Street and included a

Zellers Zellers was a Canadian discount store chain founded by Walter P. Zeller in 1931. It was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1978, and after a series of acquisitions and expansions, peaked with 350 locations in 1999. However, fierce ...

department store and Canada Safeway. In 1977, Wildwood Mall opened across Acadia Drive from County Fair Plaza on the former Stephenson dairy farm land and added retailers such as

Woolco Woolco was an American-based discount retail chain. It was founded in 1962 in Columbus, Ohio, by the F. W. Woolworth Company. It was a full-line discount department store unlike the five-and-dime Woolworth stores which operated at the time. At ...

(and later

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

) to the area. In the mid-1980s, County Fair Plaza was expanded into a larger mall called Circle Centre Mall. In the late 1990s, Wildwood Mall (which had been struggling since losing one of its anchor tenants, Dominion grocery stores) and Circle Park merged to become The Centre at Circle and 8th, which was later rebranded The Centre, with the two malls linked via a tunnel under Acadia Drive. In addition to The Centre, a few satellite businesses are located in freestanding buildings along 8th Street, straddling the mall property.

Location

Wildwood is located within the Lakewood Suburban Development Area. It is bounded by 8th Street to the north, Boychuk Drive to the east, Taylor Street to the south, and

Circle Drive Circle Drive is a major road constructed as a Beltway, ring road in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Its route constitutes both part of Saskatchewan Highway 16, Highway 16 and Saskatchewan Highway 11, Highway 11, signed as both along the entir ...

to the west. Inside those boundaries, the roads are a mix of

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

and collector roads. McKercher Drive, a north-south

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights o ...

, roughly bisects the neighbourhood; Acadia Drive is another north-south arterial road in the west half of Wildwood.

References

External links

Wildwood Community Association
{{Neighbourhoods of Saskatoon, selected=Wildwood, Saskatoon Neighbourhoods in Saskatoon