A housing complex in southern St. Albert has a new playground, thanks in no small part to the city’s Community Revitalization Grant and hundreds of volunteer hours.
But Heritage Hills isn’t your typical housing complex; it’s one of two housing co-operatives in St. Albert, a not-for-profit organization not unlike a condo board. The significant difference is the co-op itself owns all the assets rather than residents owning their individual units.
Lara Harrison, president of the co-op, said after being without a playground for six years – the last one was a wood structure that had to be torn down when it became unsafe – it’s a huge boon to the community to be able to build a new one.
“We’re all really excited,” she said. “It makes a big difference for our kids to have somewhere to play safely in our community.”
She said that while there are reserves to help with important capital projects, the co-op is never flush with cash. Having the city grant provide about one-third of the project’s $40,000 price tag – a figure that also includes upstairs window replacements in the units – has been invaluable.
“I think it would have been really hard to find that extra money,” she said.
As part of the co-op’s contributions to the project, volunteers needed to put in hundreds of hours of work, which was evident last Saturday afternoon as the playground took shape.
Volunteer Scott Jeffery, a resident of the co-op and a journeyman tradesman, said seeing dozens or residents come together to build the playground speaks to the kind of community spirit that exists in Heritage Hills.
“This is some pretty amazing stuff right here,” he said. “This is a pretty big project; we’re pretty happy and proud as a community.”
Mayor Nolan Crouse, who stopped by to offer his congratulations and give out free swimming passes for the neighbourhood children, said he was proud the city is able to give out the Community Revitalization Grant to not-for-profit organizations.
The grant, established about six years ago, is intended to provide local not-for-profits with the funding they need to ensure their infrastructure is safe and modernized.
“At the end of it all, when we can provide money for not-for-profit organizations we can keep the infrastructure modern,” he said. “You don’t want to have a community where all the infrastructure is modern except for the not-for-profits.”
He added the community spirit he saw in Heritage Hills, with members of the community all pulling together to get a big project completed, is a testament to the kind of community spirit that exists within the city as a whole.
“To bring everybody together like this, it’s community building. It’s basic community development,” he said. “These people know each other, and they’re giving each other the support.”
More information about the Community Revitalization Grant can be found online at stalbert.ca/city-hall/grants.
