Then & Now
WOODLANDS THEN & NOW IF YOU SPENT any time in Woodlands this summer, it was
probably in the company of friends and family. Whether you were cooling down in the spray park with your kids or catching a recital at the Sturgeon Valley Baptist Church, you’ll likely have noticed that Woodlands takes community
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very seriously. But the Woodlands we know today has a more controversial past than many people realize. In fact, during its planning stages, many hoped Woodlands would never come to be. Why? Here’s a glimpse back at its history.
DID YOU KNOW? Woodlands was the first residential development in St. Albert to make use of the concept of “show homes” or as it was known back then, a “home parade.” It was a sales experiment inspired by homebuilders in California, and needless to say, it was a success. 1970s The Woodlands development was planned during the early 1970s to accommodate St. Albert’s steady population growth during the 50s and 60s. Some residents, however, as well as some members of city council, believed that the city’s population was at what they described as “a tipping point,” meaning “hello, big city problems.” To allow the construction of Woodlands, they argued, would be the beginning of the end for our quiet city. One councillor warned that the construction of Woodlands would “open a Pandora’s Box of troubles” for St. Albert, as he and many of his constituents feared that the resulting population increase would lead to unfixable traffic problems, an over-taxed social-services department and an increase in crime due to the overburdened police force. After nearly a decade of arguments and a few compromises later, the two sides came together and agreed to go forward with the new development. Woodlands’ first residents moved into their homes on September 19, 1979.
