The History of Holyrood, Edmonton
History
Holyrood was originally called Mount Pleasant and East Edmonton Gardens in 1912. This area joined together with Strathcona County just one year after it happened during the 1912 amalgamation process where they became part of our city's newest district called 'Edmonton'. After the amalgamation with Edmonton, this area became known as Balmoral due to its duplication with another subdivision name. In 1953 they were rebranded Holyrood after Edinburgh's famous abbey; likely named so because of how close it is located near many major landmarks like tourist attractions or government offices. At that time there were only about 1000 homes but by 1955 this number grew tremendously due to large numbers of people moving into new developments in the central region which made them famous for being highly energetic and a very young population.


The Two Mile Circle


The Housing Boom
However, between 1960 and the early 1980’s, housing starts stalled and the area became plagued by failing infrastructure and regular sewage back ups. With almost annual flooding between 1980 - 1983, the residents of Holyrood threatened to sue the city over failing infrastructure. Insurance companies stopped insuring the homes in the area - leading to a decline in desirability despite being so close to the downtown and strathcona cores.


Concerns won out and the majority of the redevelopment would officially be turfed at the time, with the exception of a 95 Unit Apartment building at 8543 95 Avenue. Between 1990s and 2020 nothing happened to this site and the townhouses that were to be demolished in the 1990s still stood when Regency Developments purchased the entire site in 2016 and set their own sites on redevelopment. The first tower in development of the newly coined East Junction, will open in early 2023.
















