Deer Ridge

DEER RIDGE IS a young community, not only in terms of when it was founded but also in terms of the people who live there—its residents have the lowest average age in all of St. Albert. Coincidence? Not at all. Many of the community’s first residents were young couples interested in starting families, and the demographics reflect this. However, Deer Ridge is no longer just known for being full of children. In fact, it’s now gaining buzz for having the most rapidly declining population, as the children of Deer Ridge grow up and leave to start lives and families of their own.

FUN FACT It’s normal for residential developments to be built in a few phases over a few years, but Deer Ridge’s construction was so spaced out that it’s experienced a whopping 25 phases of development.

1980s

The construction of Deer Ridge first began in 1982, but the original vision for the neighbourhood was much smaller than the Deer Ridge we know today. The subdivision was originally planned to cover only the area east of Bellerose High School and south of Deer Ridge Drive. The northern, far eastern and western areas of Deer Ridge wouldn’t be conceived of until much later.

Today

Deer Ridge’s status as a community of young families will not be accurate for much longer. As the children of the community grow up and leave to make lives for themselves, the empty nesters who remain will shape and reinvent the neighbourhood’s identity, just as the residents of so many other communities have done before. In fact, they’re already off to a good start. In 2017, Deer Ridge hosted more than 15 block parties as a way for neighbours to get to know one another and build stronger bonds throughout the community. New parents will, of course, continue to move into the area to raise their children, but the age demographics of Deer Ridge will be far more mixed than ever before. The next few years will also no doubt bring other new changes—though less in the buildings themselves, and more in the relationships and organizations formed between neighbours. t8n