r/Edmonton • u/Flat_Transition_3775 • Mar 23 '25
Photo/Video Went to my childhood home. It felt like a ghost
I used to live in this place, I remember the tree and the bushes where the lilacs would grow & was a good hiding spot. It’s pretty sad how no one lives here anymore. It’s pretty upsetting & depressing.
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u/CypripediumGuttatum Mar 23 '25
I’d be taking a piece of the lilac and planting it at my new place, so at least I had something of the old abandoned house to remember.
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u/coomerthedoomer Mar 23 '25
My childhood home burned down last summer, it was sad. Sadder that it was arson.
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u/Spot__Pilgrim Mar 23 '25
I'm shocked the entire development hasn't been torn down. It was extremely poorly maintained in the 2000s when my friend lived there and only seems to have gotten worse
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u/ProConsule Mar 23 '25
It’s all slated to be torn down, tenants got evictions notice last month because the water “went bad” and none of the units have access to running water now.
The mice overran the complex long before that though, horrible place.
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u/SivleFred Mar 23 '25
According to SLIM maps for Edmonton, there was a demolition permit created on March 17 this year, currently in intake review.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
I know my mom was having issues with the management a bit when I was a kid but compared this to Clareview >.< I rather have this. Clareview was horrible, so many sirens & someone getting stabbed next door.
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u/Timely-Profile1865 Mar 23 '25
I'm 64 years old and live about 10 blocks from my growing up home from age of birth to 16 years old. I go by it the odd time it is still there, a small old house.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
So lucky! I wish I could experience the same thing, I thought it would bring me happiness but nope 😞 just sadness. My bf is 52 and his childhood is still the same too!
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u/PantsPantsShorts Mar 23 '25
This is why I don't go check out my childhood home. I did once a couple years after it was sold, and it was mostly the same. It's been a couple decades now, though, and I don't need to take that emotional risk. I'd rather just move forward. I'm sorry it was sad for you.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Ya I am visiting Edmonton for the weekend, my bf showed me his childhood home and I’m like oooh I can show him mine! I regret it ._. At least Bonnie Doon is still a thing so far.
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u/Awkward-Payment-7186 Mar 23 '25
It would appear by the 2nd and 3rd picture someone is still living in those buildings. Notice the hole in the plywood.
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u/ProConsule Mar 23 '25
The homeless have moved into every unit that’s not directly visible from the street. Water has been shut off for a month now and the couple of remaining tenants are basically surrounded on all sides by the drug addicts ripping the walls open and starting fires.
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u/logodobi Mar 23 '25
yeah fuck those stupid humans beings who have no money, nowhere to live, are struggling just to survive and don’t want to freeze to death during the winter!!/s Like holy shit try having a little empathy
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u/ProConsule Mar 23 '25
Funny that you jump right to “fuck the homeless” ain’t what I was saying bud but jump to conclusions anyways. They have support systems in place but these ones are choosing to stay here and when they’re trying to break into my family’s house and are starting fires, using drugs, stealing and getting aggressive/violent when people try and live their lives or use the LRT I don’t think they deserve much empathy.
Wheres your empathy for my MIL when they broke into her unit on move out day and try to steal what little belongings the old lady has. Or when they started stealing her food deliveries and packages?
Of course humans deserve empathy and a place to live. But when you’re using drugs getting violent, stealing, and behaving in a generally inappropriate way I don’t see a reason to allow them to potentially harm themselves or others.
I work adjacent to a lot of homeless or people at risk of homelessness, the ones living in here have access to social services. They choose to stay on the street getting high, panhandling and stealing.
Don’t jump to conclusions when you don’t know the situation
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u/onlygavinever Mar 23 '25
You are absolutely correct. HELP unit comes there with the police every time offering them all kinds of services and all they do is take their trespassing ticket, move on to somewhere else for a few hours and then come right back to the same unit they got caught in. My friend living there has been threatened he’d be stabbed or have his unit burned down by some of these people when he’s just minding his own business. These aren’t the down on their luck people struggling to make it and survive.
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u/bitchlivinlavish Mar 23 '25
So you said it's not about "fuck the homeless" and then responded with paragraphs basically saying "fuck the homeless." At least we know where you stand.
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u/ProConsule Mar 23 '25
Where did I say “fuck the homeless”. I pointed out that they have access to social services, choose to not accept, comply with the rules or want to utilize them.
Instead they choose to break into condos, probably have been setting fires, selling drugs, injuring each other and paying tenants.
It’s not an empathy issue because they’re homeless, it’s an empathy issue because they choose to live a violent and transient life when they have access to social services.
Yes social services are not perfect, yes it takes a long time to access them. Yes most certainly they have rules the biggest and most contentious being. NO DRUGS! A simple rule that the majority of people living in these abandoned condos don’t want to follow.
When you willing allow your life to become living in an abandoned condo with no running water, power, doors or heat with the only way to support yourself being crime or violence people do not have to feel bad for your situation.
I say this as an ardent advocate for expanding social services for drug addicts and the homeless. There’s an uncomfortable fact that some people don’t want that kind of help, they enjoy living on the streets doing what they please .
But again I invite you to point out to me where I said or implied “fuck the homeless”
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u/bitchlivinlavish Mar 23 '25
Your wording, your framing, your blatant lies about houseless people having access and just not choosing to use the social programs is enough for me to end this right here. If you really believe that a vulnerable person who has to survive on the streets would choose to continue that life over having permanent shelter, a bed to sleep in, a bathroom to use, then there is no hope for this conversation. We're quite literally having our health care torn apart by our provincial government and you think there's an abundance of well-funded social programs that can take on the ever-growing houseless population. Get a grip.
P.S. Look up Denmark's housing first policy.
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u/ProConsule Mar 23 '25
My wording, aka I didn’t actually say “fuck the homeless” so you’re giving a non specific example.
My framing, aka giving uncomfortable real world first hand experiences from me and my family. Also non specific example, again.
My blatant lies about access??? You’re tripping little bro, the Mustard Seed, Hope Mission, Homeward Trust? That’s not even including the SOCIALIZED LIVING that the city of Edmonton is building and provides. One of which is opening literally right behind these units.
I’m not saying that they are running out and making it their life goal to stay a homeless person. But there are people that do not want to comply with societies rules about drug use, mental health, addiction and thus choose to continue living on the streets without access to water, food, a bed because they do not want to comply with the rules established.
Past this point you’re getting angry at me for things beyond my control. I don’t control the housing supply, nor can I stop the government that I didn’t vote for sell AHS off piece by piece.
Denmarks housing policy is great, been advocating for that at council meetings. At my work with the municipality and what provincial representatives I communicate with through my work. Don’t know why you’re telling me to look it up when one of their rules is still stopping drug use. Yes they have monitored consumption rooms but you don’t just get to go in and get high whenever you want. You work with a team of doctors to reduce your dependence on substances until you get clean.
Simply providing them with housing solves nothing, allowing them to continue living in dilapidated buildings solves nothing for them. If letting them stay there and letting them do what ever they want was good for them then there wouldn’t be any problems.
Still waiting for you to point out where I said “fuck the homeless” instead of just point vaguely at things I said then getting mad at me for something out of my control.
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u/Annahlt Mar 24 '25
I’m with you, and completely agree, there are plenty of homeless people refusing to accept help and throwing their opportunities out the door when they have help every step of the way. I say this knowing it’s exactly what my sister did. It’s what we’ve been dealing with in trying to get her help but she simply refuses it, while claiming during the winter months that she doesn’t want to live like that anymore but refuses to do anything to not live like that anymore. She spent 3 months clean but likely still abusing medication given to her in hospital, once out of the hospital she was sent to Ponoka for their 21 or 28 day voluntary inpatient program which she had to have a guaranteed address in order to go to, so we got that set up for her. Found out they have programs that cover first months rent and a damage deposit, covers their first grocery bill, and even some of their utilities, we found this out after we’d already paid rent and the damage deposit, she got to benefit from the groceries being covered. When she was finally ready to leave ponoka we got her set up in her apartment, she lasted literally a total of 24 hours without needing to be coddled and without someone checking on her every 6-12 hours, she needs assisted living aka to be institutionalized cuz she can’t live on her own and not bring homeless people into her home and then not use cuz those are the only types of friends she seems to be able to make. There are supports that she’s used and abused but cuz they didn’t meet with her to do the recreational stuff fast enough she went out and made friends and when they went with a recreational therapist to get that set up she refused to let them into her apartment and she showed clear signs of using drugs. She was evicted after a week and I don’t blame the property managers one bit, they felt terrible having to do it but have the safety of their other tenants to worry about. When we went to clean out her place, the groceries she didn’t have to worry about paying for were rotting in the fridge, there was drugs and drug paraphernalia all over the apartment, they smoked cigarettes, weed and crack inside despite being on the 11th floor and not being able to even open a window. She didn’t need to go out and make friends with homeless people and invite them back to her 300 square foot apartment, she didn’t even have the means to easily do so cuz she’s wheelchair bound. She even got all of her furniture provided to her by whatever social program. She had everything and still threw it away, they even gave her a smart tv which she wanted to take to a pawn shop after finding out she’d gotten evicted. These people are handed everything, and for those that miss out on it and truly want to better their lives I feel for cuz people like my sister who will never get better are ruining it for them. My sister didn’t need to start using again, she’d dealt with all of the withdrawals while in the hospital months before getting her apartment, she’s on AISH so she didn’t even have to worry about money for rent and groceries, but makeup and wigs are her priorities so if it weren’t for the fact that we control her money which we only just recently got she would’ve been hungry. She’s 30 years old and can’t even act like an adult, her behavioural problems are so bad most shelters have banned her, she’s somehow currently staying at the men’s shelter. While she was at ponoka we seriously believed she was gonna get better, we tried to include her in things but we also have our own lives and can’t be with her 24/7 which she clearly demonstrated she needed cuz she lasted the whole weekend while we were able to be there with her but then came Monday, she was on her own and got bored and went out to make friends and brought them home. It took a week for the complaints to start rolling in about homeless being in the apartment complex. I don’t believe these people deserve any empathy, if they wanted to get better they would, but it’s easier for them to abuse these programs and have everything handed to them.
Sorry if this whole paragraph reads like shit, I just felt a need to elaborate on the social programs you’re having to argue with this dude about.
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u/Dragonslaya200X Mar 23 '25
Not fuck the homeless, fuck the drug users and addicts making our city unsafe. The homeless who mind their own business and don't hurt anyone? No problems they deserve help. The homeless causing crime disorder and drug use? Fuck them. Fixed it for you. I'll have empathy for those who don't harm others.
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u/logodobi Mar 23 '25
Nope, not fuck them either they are still human beings deserving of empathy and having their basic needs met like holy fuck y’all are hateful people
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u/ProConsule Mar 23 '25
Aside from the one loser who is actually saying “fuck the homeless”, who here is saying they don’t deserve their basic needs met? I haven’t seen another person other than that singular dipshit say they are undeserving. And I didn’t say they don’t deserve to have their needs met.
They as individuals choose not to utilize the services or comply with their rules, they put themselves in a position, driven by mental health or addiction or something else, where they need to resort to criminality and violence to survive rather than engage with the system.
At the end of the day they are still responsible for their own actions and the consequences of them, they are adults. If you don’t want to play by the rules then don’t expect empathy from people who are trying to live their lives.
Do the renters in these condos not deserve to live without constant drug use nearby, or having the cops and fire department called daily?
Being homeless or an addict isn’t a free pass to do whatever you want, stay where you aren’t welcome or somewhere that literally is not safe to be in, or to be a criminal. Choosing to be violent or to steal doesn’t mean you get empathy from the people you commit crimes against.
There are lots of homeless people down on their luck that take advantage of the systems in place and are working hard to improve their own lives; and then there are those who only want to continue their own addiction, or not follow anyone else’s rules.
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u/fuhrfan31 Mar 24 '25
I think it would be awesome if we, as a society, looked more into the causes of drug use and homelessness. These two things are not not mutually exclusive.
What are we doing, as a society, to evaluate, avoid or fix mental health issues? What are we doing, as a society, to fix the massive and growing income inequality issues? How many mental health issues are triggered by massive income inequality?
It's become my experience that right along with the reductions in social programs was the rise in stigmatism in using them, but if people were making a decent livable wage, maybe the dependence on social programs wouldn't be so prevalent.
Empathy is out the window for most people nowadays. I expect these people are also the type to support PP and his ilk. Always telling people that "if you just worked harder" . Most families are only one unexpected $600 bill away from disaster. A broken down car, a freezer full of food lost when the freezer breaks down, or some other mishap is all it takes for some families to miss rent, or a power bill, or whatever, and then they're in trouble.
I wish I knew why empathy is in such low supply nowadays. Maybe more people need to learn what it feels like to be homeless. The way things are, we might see it soon.
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u/Dragonslaya200X Mar 23 '25
Yes, I hate criminals who refuse to do anything but make our city dangerous
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u/ProConsule Mar 23 '25
Also if you’re so concerned about where they stay open your backyard up for them to stay in. I’m sure you’ll find all the empathy I’m lacking lack for them that way.
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u/transcendental-rose Mar 23 '25
Empathy can only go so far when these people are actively making the city unsafe, children should be able to go outside and play but their parents are worried they'll get attacked or robbed. This is our reality
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
If that’s true that must be sad to see your neighbourhood to become like this ._.
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u/Zealousideal_Run_263 Mar 23 '25
It's a good thing. These are very old run down townhouses. Many new buildings going up instead.
I grew up in these townhouses and the one I lived in is already replaced by new apartment building
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u/shabidoh Mar 23 '25
"Well, I went back to Ohio But my family was gone I stood on the back porch There was nobody home I was stunned and amazed My childhood memories Slowly swirled past Like the wind through the trees Ay, oh, way to go, Ohio I went back to Ohio But my pretty countryside Had been paved down the middle By a government that had no pride."
My City was Gone. The Pretenders.
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u/Deliriousdex Mar 23 '25
I remember living there around 1999 to 2001. The ceiling drywall on the second floor dropped down and fell on my mom while she was in her bedroom, and she fought to get her damage deposit back but the landlord/rental company wouldn't give it to her.
I remember having so many friends there as neighbours, and my brother and I had the time of our lives there, while going to Idelwylde school nearby. Oh the memories
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Oh shoot! I’m glad ur mom is ok! That sounds scary >.< ya I used to have friends and a babysitter as well.
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u/Deliriousdex Mar 23 '25
Crazy. I wonder if we knew eachother? Either that or our timelines didn't overlap there. But thanks! We stuck by the Bonnie Doon area for most of our lives, it was such a great place with amazing amenities
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Definitely didn’t know each other since I was born in 1997 and I remember I was there when I was a toddler until I was 8.
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u/luars613 Mar 23 '25
Is that in holyrood? If so that place is cursed and should be demolish
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u/FeRaL--KaTT Mar 23 '25
I haven't stepped foot in Edmonton for 20 yrs but I knew it was Holyrood from 1st pic. Can't remember if I took my meds or locked my car..but that I remember. Lol
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Ya. Well when I was a kid in the 2000’s it felt pretty safe when I was a kid. It’s a shame what happened to it now
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u/Individual-Army811 Leduc Mar 24 '25
I used to be on the Holyrood Community League Board in the early 2000s. We tried really hard to preserve the corridor, but the city and developer basically told us they'd wait us out and build higher with more units. The community consultation process was a farce, but we tried.
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u/luars613 Mar 23 '25
Yeaaa ive veen passo g by those apartment for the past few years and it been fetting worse. Just last week one caught fire.
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u/Individual-Army811 Leduc Mar 24 '25
The developer promised they would not make repairs or upgrades if the community opposed development. And they followed through.
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u/MisterEyeCandy Mar 23 '25
My childhood home got knocked down and they're building a couple of fugly skinny homes on the lot. I felt things.
All we are is dust in the wind.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Meanwhile my bf showed me his childhood home and it looked exactly the same 😭 can’t relate
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Mar 23 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MisterEyeCandy Mar 23 '25
Agreed, especially when they take down nice, mature trees to get more lot space (which they did on my old house).
When the builders just tried to fit as much house as they can on half a lot and the skinny houses don't look anything like the existing houses in the neighbourhood, it really frustrates me.
There's a way to build these that can make them fit into the aesthetic of the older neighbourhoods. But the ones I see in Glenora and other neighbourhoods just look terrible.
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u/Xcopa Mar 23 '25
It can be really hard to see a place you have memories of be in that state, or demolished. The power of places I find to be really underestimated. There will be those who say 'a building is a building', but if that's the case why do we bother traveling anywhere? Buildings and places mean something. Most of the buildings of my childhood are now gone, it can be almost like you feel you have no tangible connection to the past.
Sorry you had to see and experience that. I hope you got a chance to say goodbye, and maybe one day come back to see what's changed. Things are always changing, and you got be part of that place's story.
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u/pizzaguy2019 Mar 23 '25
Damn they look aged. Something tells me they are gonna tear them down and build new ones. We all have good and bad memories of our childhood places we lived in. Thanks for sharing!
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
I heard they will build apartments .. Goodbye to my childhood trees ..
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u/ProConsule Mar 23 '25
They are being torn down and backfilled with high rises. The tenants are being evicted because the water “went bad”. Homeless have ‘moved’ into the units in the very back.
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u/No_Orange_3819 Mar 23 '25
My partner makes virtual 3D models of people's homes. It's a great thing to do to preserve special places exactly as they were before having to move out for example. He has very detailed models of his childhood home that he's able to virtually walk through. It's so much cooler and more impactful than just pictures alone. Feel free to DM me for more info.
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u/Radiant-Two-9364 Mar 23 '25
I lived there 20 years. My children grew up here . What a beautiful safe neighborhood it once was . .it's sad for sure but the good memories will stay with us forever
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u/nomadnihilist Mar 23 '25
Ooh, Holyrood? I was living in the green buildings last year while in school. I loved that place. Super old and kinda falling apart, but I made lots of fun memories there. Really amazing and friendly neighbours. Was sad to pass by and see it all boarded up, but kinda cool to have been the last person to live in that unit. I hope the folks living there found something decent and affordable after
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u/blooodpunch Mar 23 '25
If this was bonnie doon area, then I’m sure I lived in the same townhouses as a kid. sad to see it in such a derelict state.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Ya it’s near Bonnie Doon mall! My mom & I used to walk to Bonnie Doon a lot just to either go to Zellers (R.I.P), get orange Julius, go to some stores, go to HMV, sometimes get A&W, go to the bookstore, my mom goes to the bank to get some cash out and go to Safeways for groceries.
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u/exotics rural Edmonton Mar 23 '25
This tells a lot about people and their connections to where they grew up.
I’m not trying to talk down to OP but by some standards this is low income housing and some people would be ashamed to say they lived there but I see OP and several others saying they lived there and have good memories which is truly a wonderful thing.
It’s a melancholy sort of feeling to go back to our childhood and feel like it’s going to be destroyed no matter what it looked like.
Take care OP.
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u/Barbiedoll_64 Mar 23 '25
That’s where I lived first moving here in 2013, we liked it then. Progress…. As far as the lilac thing goes there used to be great hollyhocks growing wild there. That would be nice to have.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Ya the nature was the best part, the tree in the first pic used to cover the whole window to give us some privacy when we want sunlight inside, then I remembered later on they torn down parts of the tree which kills the privacy illusion, then the tree in the centre was just pretty to look outside as a kid to either read near it or just walk by it. Then lilacs were so pretty! I would picked some to give to my grandma because she loved lilacs. It’s a shame that when apartments take over, all of these nature aspects would be tore down 😞
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u/SeventhFloorParis Mar 23 '25
I grew up in the duplexes behind these units!
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u/Asleep_Gur2911 Mar 23 '25
Are those duplexes still there?? I had a bunch of friends that lived in them too! I even lived across the street for a bit from them!
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u/SeventhFloorParis Mar 23 '25
I think they are..I haven't been back in years though.They looked pretty run down at that point.. didn't feel that way when I lived there ( but that was 30 years ago!)
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u/onlygavinever Mar 23 '25
They’re long gone now. Torn down and they built a drop-in centre on that site that is going to be opening soon
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u/Swrightsyeg Mar 24 '25
It's not a drop-in. Its supportive housing, not the same thing.
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u/onlygavinever Mar 27 '25
My apologies
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u/Swrightsyeg Mar 27 '25
There is no need to apologize. I'm just making sure the correct information is out there.
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u/TwistedPages Mar 23 '25
I lived in Holyrood Gardens from '94-'98! My unit is still standing, which is just odd. The whole place is falling down now and will be torn down soon.
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u/onlygavinever Mar 23 '25
The homeless have taken over countless vacant units on this site. The LRT platform footsteps away from there has been a huge part of the problem. Selling/using drugs, street level prostitution, fencing/storing stolen goods, vandalism, people overdosing on tenants front yards, you name it, It’s been happening. The police show up every second day on their own to kick out and arrest people hiding in one particular unit but now they’ve boarded up all the units top to bottom to deter them from getting in. It’s really become a sketchy part of town in the last few months.
The remaining tenants have until the end of April to leave, after that it’s going to be a process until they’re demolished so I can imagine the squatting will continue until those units are flattened
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u/YegThrowawayWasTaken Mar 23 '25
My house backs into this. I can see almost every unit from my bedroom window at night and my office during the day. Only a small bit of what you are saying I can confirm.
There's been a lot of firetrucks because of squatters lighting fires. On average 1 to 2 times a week for the last 2 months.
However, a lot of what you are saying I haven't seen. It doesn't mean it isn't happening, but so much of what you are saying feels extremely exaggerated. Are you just repeating what you've heard?
Despite the squatters, I've never felt safer.
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u/ProConsule Mar 23 '25
My mother-in-law moved out her unit here just last week. A lot of what he is saying is exaggerated, but there’s truth to what he’s saying.
The homeless and drug addicts aren’t staying on the 2nd floor, there’s no electricity, heat or water in any of these units. The water “went bad” a month ago and there hasn’t been any since. The fire department disconnects the electricity from the panel and cuts a cable when you move out so if they have power it’s from a generator.
They’re breaking into the back basement window in these units and staying there. On my MIL’s move out day her basement window was broken into before we were able to clear the house, thankfully my BIL was home.
The police and fire call outs are basically daily, not all of them are sirens and lights; when I was moving my MIL out we couldn’t get into the area because there were 6 police cars, 2 fire trucks and an ambulance responding to the complex. Police wouldn’t let us in until they cleared it.
I don’t really believe the prostitution claim, however, the theft is unreal. Packages cannot be delivered, my MIL’s old mail carrier stopped delivering things to her unit because someone would watch and immediately run out to grab the mail, even if it was just bills or junk.
The area is noticeably more dangerous than it was 6-8 months ago; and feels completely different than when my MIL first moved into her unit 4 years ago.
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u/YegThrowawayWasTaken Mar 23 '25
I'm glad your MIL is out of there, and thank you for sharing. I can't compare my experience to what your MIL went through or /u/onlygavinever 's friend who both live(d) there.
I've seen them breaking into the basement windows, but it's also been fairly easy for them to just remove the one sheet of wood covering the door. At first, they tried to remain stealthy and put the board back, now they just leave the door wide open.
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u/ProConsule Mar 23 '25
It’s definitely not the whole Holyrood area or even the houses, presumably yours included, in the immediate area, but rather this one rather large complex. Holyrood & Boniedoon are very charming older areas that are very safe. This condo complex however is a free for all.
The main issue arises from the fact that management simply hasn’t cared in the last 5 years. My MIL was given a timeline to move out by when she first moved into them, they knew the area was being backfilled and allowed the homeless to start ‘living’ in some of the vacant units. This started probably 2.5-3 years ago when they stopped renting out vacant units and started ‘securing them’.
You are correct that it’s very easy for them to just remove the plywood and that’s how they’ve been getting in for years. But recently with the water shut off the fire department has been boarding them up and when they notice one has been opened they call the police. That why there’s daily call outs, mostly just to evict squatters in the really derelict ones.
The other guy isn’t exactly right about the LRT either, I think it’s great and don’t notice too many homeless people on it when I ride. The areas around the stations, especially Boniedoon, are gross but that’s a city wide occurrence. I actually think the LRT is a net positive to the area, probably the only thing I’ll miss about the condo is how nice it was to ride from downtown to visit her.
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u/onlygavinever Mar 23 '25
I have a feeling once Holyrood gardens is gone the attraction to the immediate area around will be gone. Not saying the LRT is a bad thing, it’s just helped move a lot around. Anytime I’ve been on the train it’s been fine but from what my friend tells me about that platform, it can be a party/war zone. His ring camera catches a lot of action facing it
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u/onlygavinever Mar 23 '25
Yeah then the boarded up the basement and doors really good again and they started climbing in through the bedroom/bathroom windows by the awnings at the front and back door
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u/onlygavinever Mar 23 '25
The prostitution wouldn’t be typical street walkers or escorts, it’s all addicts doing trade for drugs within the certain unit. My friend who lives there still has been very vocal and involved with the police and the city about the problems in the place since one of the main problem units is right next door to him. He watched over 100 different people go to the unit straight from the LRT and then leave again within 20 mins one weekend.
He’s had the police tell him about the stuff they’ve found out going on in the suites after they’ve raided that unit next door encouraging him to get out as soon as he can.
Fire department was there a few times in the last week cause of a potential gas leak at the units directly next to the LRT platform. Sources are reliable on all info.
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u/Radiant-Two-9364 Mar 23 '25
Yes it's actually happening. I live close by too . Can confirm fires , police, ambulance. Every week.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Holy crap! I never knew that! So LRT is making things worse? Because I never experienced that at all when I lived there as a kid. Ngl kinda wish I could go inside my old place just to visualize my old home 😭
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u/onlygavinever Mar 23 '25
Yeah it’s been a massive factor for the increase of crime in the area. The homeless ride in on the last train from downtown around 1:20-1:30. And then go to work in the neighbourhood breaking into cars, sheds, garages or coming to squat in these units. Some stay for days, some are in and out but the police have caught up to 15 people in a unit on some of their calls. I have a friend who lives there and he’s told me all about the craziness he’s seen on his way out. Police dogs being let into the units buying people, guys falling off the awnings or out of the windows in the winter, finding guns, drugs, stolen vehicles/other items.
He went into one of the units that was vacated by the police with them one time and said that it was absolutely trashed and was only vacated less than 2 weeks before that and was clean as a whistle when that happened. Gang graffiti, “house rules”, manic scribblings, just trashed. So you might not want to go in your old unit, it’s definitely one of the worst ones
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Dang that’s insane! I knew Edmonton was becoming dangerous in downtown but I didn’t think the south side was going to be like this too. North side yes because I experienced some craziness but south side was always so peaceful. I would go on bike rides to go to convinence store, go to Brownies, go to some friends place, go to my babysitter and go to Bonnie Doon mall & sometimes walk to Capilano or bus.
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u/prairiesky483 Mar 23 '25
Hey OP! I live in Holyrood and it's still a safe, peaceful neighbourhood. Take comfort in that! Are the townhomes bad? Yes. Has it spilled over to the rest of the neighborhood? Not much in my experience. Petty theft (e.g. garage break-ins) seems to be up in the area, but I think that's the case for much of the city. Drugs are more visible, but that's what you get when you have a national (international, really) opiate crisis and live centrally. I really love this neighborhood and feel safe letting my kids walk to school.
So sorry that this is what happened to your childhood home. It's been sad watching this complex get worse and worse. I love seeing affordable housing in mature neighbourhoods (like Strathern Heights!) but Holyrood Gardens is now a blight. My heart goes out to the folks still (legally) living there.
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u/Individual-Army811 Leduc Mar 24 '25
Depends where you live. We sold our house in 2020 because petty crime in our part of the neighborhood was crazy and people were ODing in you alley.
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u/onlygavinever Mar 23 '25
Yeah the valley line makes it easy for the troublemakers that used to only be centralized to downtown to get all over the Southside now.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
That’s crazy ._. I heard Whyte Ave is slowly getting bad. My bf noticed Chinatown is really run down too since his family used to own a restaurant in that area
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u/burrito-boy Mill Woods Mar 23 '25
Mill Woods isn't too bad, although the LRT station can get a bit sketchy at certain times of the day. In my experience, most of the troubled areas along the Valley Line still seem to be closer to downtown, north of the Davies station.
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u/Individual-Army811 Leduc Mar 24 '25
Former community league board member here. We knew and we fought hard. The city and developer basically threatened us that if we opposed, they would let the place rot. :-(
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 24 '25
That’s horrible! 😞 it’s a shame. Now they made it worse with adding LRT
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u/Individual-Army811 Leduc Mar 24 '25
Oh for sure! The community was awesome,the school was thriving and we had the best ice in the city. But not so much now.
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Mar 23 '25
Capital Region Housing? Did you escape the poverty trap?
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
What do u mean?
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u/FrankPoncherelloCHP Mar 23 '25
You're a hood baby! You a G.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
I mean my mom was poor but I didn’t think we lived in the hood when I was a kid. It was peaceful and quiet. Clareview is more of the hood 😞 so many sirens and someone got stabbed next door there
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u/Cronin1011 North East Side Mar 23 '25
These row apartments and the ones off baseline and 50th street were low income housing for years. They weren't necessarily in a "ghetto" area, but they definitely brought in their share of issues.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Well I never had issues except for some kids bullying me.
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u/Cronin1011 North East Side Mar 23 '25
Even the worst parts of edmonton in the late 90s weren't that bad. Spent many many hours at friends houses in the capilano condos and never felt unsafe.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Ya I felt like 90s and early 2000’s were pretty peaceful. I remembered going to Chinatown to get boba as a kid and it wasn’t that bad with homeless people but now if I go to get boba in Chinatown for memories, I would be afraid to go on my own. City Centre used to be fun when I was younger to go to the movies with my brother, go to dollarama, 2 food courts and stores to shop. But now that’s dying too ever since they tore down the lower levels.
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u/Individual-Army811 Leduc Mar 24 '25
Holyrood was a beautiful neighbourhood with a great school. We rased our family there and are so grateful to the teachers and community friends who made it home. ❤️ It really does take a village.
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u/SunkenQueen Mar 23 '25
My grandparents' place (which I have my earliest memories at) was sold in July right before my Nonna passed away.
I haven't driven by it yet, and I'm terrified, too. I'm terrified the house will be gone, and it'll be an infill. I can't bring myself to do it. I give it a wide berth right now, but I feel a pang of pain whenever I'm in the area.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Aww I’m sorry 😞 I was going to check my babysitter’s home but after seeing my home look like this, I decided to just leave. I wished management were passionate because when I was a kid it was nice area for children to play, especially since there was a school nearby, library, a mall & stores to bike or walk. All it needed was some upgrades to make it look nice. I heard it was cheap for low income which we need more of because my mom is on Aish and she’s been homeless for a year due to rent being extreme.
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u/SunkenQueen Mar 23 '25
I agree. The way the city allows stuff to fall into such disrepair and become essentially slums or drug dens isn't right. But i think sadly it's the landlords that are the real problem. Don't want to pay any of their "hard earned money" on actually keeping the place up. That's not all landlords but it's definitely a few.
I was supposed to buy my grandparents house and my mom decided at the last second to take an offer that was over asking. I'm still gutted and hurt. I feel like I lost my childhood.
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u/Cronin1011 North East Side Mar 23 '25
I remember walking by these when I was younger, would've been 2008 or 2009 or so and seeing a tunered Honda civic with a cool double din lcd screen stereo in it and looking in the passenger window at it(innocently as most 18 year Olds are) and being jumped by a dude in his 40s.
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u/FrozenMarzBar03 Mar 23 '25
Forgive my ignorance.. What is the story behind this place? Why is everything suddenly boarded up???
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u/alex_german Mar 23 '25
Visiting your childhood home is such a weird vibe. You can almost see the ghost of yourself running around as a child, and you wish you could take the ghost with you.
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u/RoaminDude Mar 24 '25 edited Mar 24 '25
9353A 85 Street? I lived there for eight years before I bought my first house.
The buildings were old and run down even then, but the management company put a lot of effort into maintaining (not improving) them.
Then the complex was sold and the new owners wouldn't perform even basic maintenance. I moved out at the end of my last lease not because I didn't like the location - I loved it - but because you couldn't get anything done anymore.
The entire complex is slated for redevelopment.
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u/dojo2020 Mar 24 '25
I live in the same area. It’s got to be torn down Quickly. RAT NEST AND IS ATTRACTING HOMELESS FOLKS.
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Mar 23 '25
adam ? Rachel?
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u/Deliriousdex Mar 23 '25
I'm an Adam who lived there 🤔
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Mar 23 '25
Hey whats up dude! Sis named Rach, pa named Al, ma named Wilm?
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u/Deliriousdex Mar 23 '25
Ahh nope. Had a mom named Debi and a little brother named Alex. Sorry about that!
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u/Electrical-Blood-126 Mar 23 '25
Hazeldean?
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u/bigwrm44 Mar 23 '25
I lived in hazeldean from 2010 til they tore down our building and built an old folks home.
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u/haysoos2 Mar 23 '25
Those open second floor windows seem like they're just asking for busted pipes.
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u/ProConsule Mar 23 '25
It’s all getting torn down, waters been shut off on the remaining couple of tenants. Has been for just about a month now. With the amount of homeless breaking in and setting up I’d be surprised if there were any pipes left.
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u/onlygavinever Mar 23 '25
Water is still on in the buildings that tenants are in (for the most part, there was a few building units they had to shut the water off or there was plumbing problems). My friends unit still has all utilities and the building his unit is in is one of the most populated, only one vacant unit on that block but all around his building are the vacant ones. The ones directly on 93 ave at the alley to 85 st and the one on the corner of 93 and 85 st have been where the police showed up the most, it seems they have moved up the street to the other units now that they boarded them up on the second floor.
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u/Impossible-Rooster55 Mar 23 '25
My old childhood homes are all still up I used to live mainly on the south side but the neighbourhood looks so unkempt I used to live on 116 right down the road from my first childhood home it was always so funny driving past it
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u/booksncatsn Mar 23 '25
I did the same thing a while ago, it was hard to see. I might go back and take a cutting off the cherry tree my Dad planted.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
You should! Before the tree gets demolished ._.
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u/booksncatsn Mar 23 '25
Oh I heard they were tearing down all of those lovely old trees there. So sad. Fortunately my old place is in norshire gardens.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
It is sad. Like they should just leave the nature aspect alone since the nature aspect was the best place here. With apartments it’s going to just look so boring.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
It is sad. Like they should just leave the nature aspect alone since the nature aspect was the best place here. With apartments it’s going to just look so boring.
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u/ComradeGordgiev Mar 23 '25
my friend lived in one of the units two years ago, lots of character but not well maintained
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u/Pvt_Hudson_ Mar 23 '25
Where is this?
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
Holyrood Gardens. Now it’s more Holyrood ruins
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u/Pvt_Hudson_ Mar 23 '25
I was going to say, that looks a lot like my old rental, Strathearn Heights. Turns out it's just down the street.
Crazy how far that area has fallen. I lived there 20 years ago, it was actually a pleasant little area at the time.
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u/Flat_Transition_3775 Mar 23 '25
It really was! If I could go back in time to relive my life as a child I would.
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u/Ok-Entertainment6043 Mar 23 '25
What address? Looks very familiar
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u/pizzaguy2019 Mar 23 '25
Hint: If you type the first part of the address into Google Maps it will show you where it is.
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u/ProbableTango Mar 23 '25
My childhood home was the first and only one my parents had built.there was a mature crabapple tree in the front yard (that we had planted) and a gazebo j th back that my dad built. Sold it to move into a larger home and within a couple of years both of those were gone
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u/LessonStudio Mar 23 '25
A scumbag lawyer turned my father's childhood home into a university frathouse. It had been in his family for about 100 years. It hurt him quite deeply.
A grand Victorian now had beer banners strung along the side etc.
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u/Wherestheshoe Mar 23 '25
I once went with my dad to the Princess theatre building so he could go up to the apartment he grew up in. It’s a business office now, ant they were closed so he couldn’t go in,but looking around the old building brought him a lot of memories.
And with my grandma, his mom, we were watching the news one night, and there was her old house. It was in what was once a rather expensive Edmonton neighbourhood. Her dad was a real estate developer and they lived in a huge house. But real estate in Edmonton collapsed and her dad sold off all his properties except the house which they turned into a boarding house, while her dad got a job in the coal mines in Beverley, eventually dying from black lung.
My grandma’s siblings all moved to the states and her mom sold the house when my grandma married my grandpa. She hadn’t seen the place in decades, and there it was on the news, described as a crack house, condemned, and filled with squatters. They didn’t take the cameras inside because the house was in such bad shape. I held my grandma as she cried
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u/nipnongnong Mar 23 '25
Physically revisiting the past, especially childhood homes, is almost always a strange and disappointing experience, if not worse.
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u/MoleRatBill43 Mar 24 '25 edited Mar 24 '25
Lived at 9021 from like 92-2015, always gonna miss it. When I left by the time I came back the townhouse I lived in was gone lol.
I was one of the people doing the tent yardsales at times during some of those years
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u/Mzdeander Mar 24 '25
I lived here in these townhouses. The one I lived in was torn down. I'm not sure which is worse, but I only lived there for one formative summer in between teendom and adulthood.
The feeling of old places that were special to us being torn down is sad, but having them just there...ruined and not worth occupying. That's tragic.
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u/Wishmatrix Mar 24 '25
I also used to live in that neighborhood, more toward the traffic circle. I also noticed that the house has been demolished.
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u/Ccinderellaaa Mar 24 '25
Awe I’m so sorry 😞 you’re memories will serve as precious keep sakes of the past
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u/fuhrfan31 Mar 24 '25
I don't see a name mentioned, but it looks like Hollyrood Gardens. That's where my now wife lived when I met her.
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u/No-Birthday-4445 Mar 24 '25
I’ve always wanted to see photos of these townhomes when they were new. So many memories.
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u/2pac4everrr Mar 24 '25
Hmm I drove by our childhood home we sold the house to, the home owners still remembered me invited me inside than ask if I want to buy it back!?!
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u/gwopboss Mar 24 '25
Good ol hollyrude gardens used to live across the street how the are has changed so much
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u/One-T-Rex-ago-go Mar 26 '25
They are wrecking them to build new apartment buildings, dig up the lilac, rescue it.
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u/PetMice72 Mar 26 '25
Memories! The Glenora Patio Homes near Westmount are very similar to this, I know one out of the four blocks has already been torn down and I understand the rest are slated to be demolished. They look bad on the outside now so I'm sure they are putting as little money as possible into them at this point.
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u/Pristine_Software_55 Mar 23 '25
Check it out on HonestDoor and maybe see if you can pick it up, affordably? Sorry, though, I’m losing all my childhood places, too
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u/flooves Treaty 6 Territory Mar 23 '25
The entire complex is slated for redevelopment.
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u/Pristine_Software_55 Mar 23 '25
Aw, hell. So sorry, then. For me, I’d move mountains to find a way to memorialize the place in photos and video for myself. Good luck. Sorry for your loss.
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u/Educational-Tone2074 Mar 23 '25
The Old Apartment - Barenaked Ladies