Rossdale, Edmonton

Rossdale is a river valley neighbourhood in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, located immediately south of the downtown core. It is a popular residential neighbourhood with easy access to downtown, the University of Alberta, the Edmonton river valley park system, and other amenities.

Rossdale
Neighbourhood
EPCOR's Rossdale Power Plant viewed from the High Level Bridge
Rossdale
Location of Rossdale in Edmonton
Coordinates: 53.532°N 113.496°W / 53.532; -113.496
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
CityEdmonton
Quadrant[1]NW
Ward[1]6
Sector[2]Mature area
Area[3]Central core
Government
 • MayorDon Iveson
 • Administrative bodyEdmonton City Council
 • CouncillorScott McKeen
Area
 • Total0.91 km2 (0.35 sq mi)
Elevation
630 m (2,070 ft)
Population
 (2012)[6]
 • Total819
 • Density900/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
 • Change (2009–12)
−4.7%
 • Dwellings
504

RE/MAX Field, home to the Edmonton Prospects baseball team of the Western Canadian Baseball League since 2012, is located in this neighbourhood. The Edmonton Trappers of the AAA Pacific Coast League also called RE/MAX Field, then known as Telus Field, home up to the end of the 2004 season, when the franchise was moved to another city.

A short distance to the west of the neighbourhood, along River Valley Road, are the Royal Glenora Club, the Golf Course, and the Skating Oval in Victoria Park.

The community is represented by the Rossdale Community League, established in 1922, which maintains a community hall located at 101 Street and 96 Avenue.[7][8]

Archaeology and history

The site of the Rossdale powerplant was a First Nations campsite from the time that people first moved into the Edmonton area after the retreat of the glaciers around 8,000 years ago. In the early 1800s it was used as the site for the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Edmonton and the North West Company's Fort Augustus, although this was only a theory until 2012 when a trench thought to be part of stockade wall was unearthed.[9]

Human remains have been discovered at the site multiple times, by EPCOR workers and archaeologists, from at least the 1960s to 2010s.[10][11] After a protest about the city's lack of consultation with the indigenous community, the provincial government directed the city to consult with the Papaschase band, other First Nations and the Métis Nation of Alberta.[11] In 2005 and 2016, unearthed human remains were re-interred.[11][12]

In 2007, a monument commonly known as the Rossdale Memorial was constructed to mark the desecrated burial ground.[13]

Demographics

In the City of Edmonton's 2012 municipal census, Rossdale had a population of 819 living in 504 dwellings,[6] a -4.7% change from its 2009 population of 859.[14] With a land area of 0.91 km2 (0.35 sq mi),[5] it had a population density of 900 people/km2 in 2012.[5][6]

Residential development

While Rossdale is an older neighbourhood with residential development beginning during the early years of Edmonton's history, there has been a significant redevelopment of the area in more recent years.

According to the 2001 federal census, only one residence in ten (9.9%) in modern Rossdale was built before the end of World War II. Another one in five residences (17.6%) were built between 1946 and 1970 and one residence in ten (11.0%) were built during the 1970s. One in four residences (24.2%) were built during the 1980s and two out of five (37.4%) were built during the 1990s.[15]

The most common type of residence in Rossdale, according to the 2005 municipal census, is a mixture of rented apartments and apartment style condominiums. These account for half (51%) of all residences in the neighbourhood. Two out of three of these residences are in low-rise buildings with fewer than five stories while one in three are in high-rise buildings with five or more stories. Single-family dwellings account for one out of every three (35%) of all residences in the neighbourhood. Row houses account for one in ten residences (10%). Four percent of all residences are duplexes.[16] Three out of every five (62%) are owner-occupied while two out of five (38%) are rented.[17]

Rossdale Power Plant
Rossdale Power Plant in 2010.
Main article: Rossdale Power Plant

Located next to RE/MAX Field is the Rossdale Power Plant, used by EPCOR to generate electricity. Originally built by the Edmonton Electric Lighting and Power Company, the owner Alex Taylor, sold the company to the city of Edmonton in 1902. The plant was shut down by EPCOR in 2009.[18] The plant sits on, and adjacent to, a native burial ground,[19] and was named a provincial historic resource in 2001.[20]

EPCOR also operates the Rossdale water treatment plant located next to the power plant. The water treatment plant was constructed in 1903 and remains in operation.[21]

Population mobility

The population in Rossdale is highly mobile. According to the 2005 municipal census, one in five (21.5%) of all residents had moved within the previous twelve months. Another one in five (22.4%) had moved within the previous one to three years. Only two out of every five (42%) residents had lived at the same address for five years or longer.[22]

See also

References
  1. "City of Edmonton Wards & Standard Neighbourhoods" (PDF). City of Edmonton. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 3, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  2. "Edmonton Developing and Planned Neighbourhoods, 2011" (PDF). City of Edmonton. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 4, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  3. "The Way We Grow: Municipal Development Plan Bylaw 15100" (PDF). City of Edmonton. 2010-05-26. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 2, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  4. "Mayor and City Council". City of Edmonton. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  5. "Neighbourhoods (data plus kml file)". City of Edmonton. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  6. "Municipal Census Results – Edmonton 2012 Census". City of Edmonton. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  7. "Call or Visit". Rossdale Community League. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  8. Kuban, Ron (2005). Edmonton's Urban Villages: The Community League Movement. University of Alberta Press. ISBN 9781459303249.
  10. Hees, James (24 May 2001). "Evidence of cemetary [sic] found under power plant". CBC Radio Canada. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  11. "Human remains reburied near Rossdale power plant".
  12. "Rossdale Burials – Papaschase". Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  13. "Traditional Burial Grounds and Fort Edmonton Cemetery - Manasc Isaac Architects". www.manascisaac.com. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  14. "2009 Municipal Census Results". City of Edmonton. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  15. "Data" (PDF). censusdocs.edmonton.ca. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  16. Duplexes include triplexes and fourplexes.
  17. http://censusdocs.edmonton.ca/C05002/MUNICIPAL%202005/Neighbourhood/ROSSDALE.pdf
  18. "Rewed Mont on – The Edmonton Real Estate Weekly".
  19. "The Great Edmonton River Valley Debate, Pt. 2: Rossdale and Epcor redevelopment". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  20. "Rossdale Power Plant". Canada's Historic Places. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  21. "EPCOR Water Treatment Plant".
  22. http://censusdocs.edmonton.ca/C05022B/MUNICIPAL%202005/Neighbourhood/ROSSDALE.pdf
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