Empire Park, Edmonton | Neighbourhood Profile

Empire Park At A Glance

Homes in Empire Park

• Average Asking Price (2012): $275,500
• Asking Price Range (2012): $199,900 to $370,000
• Average Home Size (Approx):  1020 ft²
• Size Range (Approx): 670 ft² to 1390 ft²

Empire Park Real Estate Market

• Hot Market Index (2012):  61.0 °G
• Absorption (2012): 75.0%
• Buyer Willingness (2012): 96.8%
• Desirability Score (2012): 98.6/100 (Ridiculously Desirable)
• Dilapidation Score (2006)*: 2.5% (Amazing)

Empire Park & the Average Edmonton Hot Market Index (2012)

Amenities

• Accessibility Score: 247 homes per point of access (Okay).
• Parking: Very good.
• Transit: 17 bus stops plus direct access to the Southgate LRT Station.
• Parks: 1 park within neighbourhood boundaries.

Location & Description

Empire Park is a high-density neighbourhood that includes Southgate Centre within its boundaries. It is bounded on the north side by 51st Avenue and continues south to the Whitemud Freeway. On the eastern side the neighbourhood runs up to 111th Street all the way to Calgary Trail on the east. Asking prices in Empire Park started at a very reasonable $199,900 and ran up to just $370,000 in 2012 with an average asking price of just $275,000. There aren’t many large units in the neighbourhood, though the largest size unit that sold in the area was just 1370 ft².

Much of Empire Park is rental properties – and those properties are very large complexes – making for few listings and therefore a high desirability. For the same reason, everything is in quite good repair. It is not often a group of investors will let a large building get dilapidated. The properties that do go one sale in Empire Park sell quite fast, too – which is great for sellers in the area. All in all, Empire Park is a very practical neighbourhood with low prices and an amazingly convenient location.

The majority of Empire park is zoned for commercial and higher density buildings. There is a small amount of RF4 and RF1 zoned area on the north side of the neighbourhood – which is where all the houses are situated.

A bar graph showing when homes were constructed in Empire Park*

Almost all of Empire Park was built in the 1970s, but the neighbourhood had been partially developed much earlier – some homes had been built as early as the 1910s. There hasn’t been much development as of late, however. Certainly large buildings aren’t often torn down to make way for new ones, and a lot of the homes are too new to warrant replacing them with infills.

A pie chart showing home types in the Empire Park neighbourhood*

You can see from the chart that there aren’t many houses in Empire Park. 33% of the neighbourhood is high-rise units, and 27% is low-rise units. The rest is mostly made up of row houses – another 33%. That doesn’t leave room for much else. This isn’t a common occurrence in Edmonton for a neighbourhood, to have this much density – especially so far from Downtown.

A pie chart showing how many homes are rented versus how many owned in Empire Park*

So over 92% of Empire Park is rental units – amazingly high when you consider the City of Edmonton average is just 37%. It isn’t easy to find something in Empire Park – there were only 32 homes listed in all of 2012. Does this make the area a good investment for those looking to rent out a unit in the area – with this location and those average prices – if you could find one, it probably would work quite well.

Condos in Empire Park

Almost all the high-rise and low-rise units in Empire Park are investor owned and are not condominiums – only 2 buildings are condominiumized at this time.

• Brass III Southgate – A townhouse complex located at 4830 104A St.
• Southview Court – An large apartment complex at 4835 104A St across from the south side Italian Centre Shop.

Schools

Elementary:

McKee School – 10725 51 Ave | 780 435 7140

Junior High:

L.Y. Cairns School – 10510 45 Ave | 780 434 9561

High Schools:

L.Y. Cairns School – 10510 45 Ave | 780 434 9561

Other Schools:

~ None in this community

Parks & Recreation

Empire Park has 2 city parks:

Dr. Francis Crang Park  – 10503 48 Ave
Empire Park – 4804 107 St 

Access & Parking

Parking in Empire Park is very good for all residents in row houses and single family homes, but could be limited for those living in high-rise complexes. Because your building may be pretty far from the street and parking spaces are of course limited in the complex parking lots, there may not be any street parking nearby.

Access to Empire Park is just OK – mostly because there are so many units in the area and only 9 points of access. Because the neighbourhood is right on the Whitemud Freeway, there is only one entrance to the south, and being on Calgary Trail makes for only one exit on that side, too. All in all the access score for Empire Park is one point of access for every 247 units.

Transit

There are 17 bus stops in Empire Park along with the Southgate LRT Station. That’s one stop for every 124 homes – which isn’t bad at all. The LRT station is the big ticket here, though. With such great access to the LRT, you can live in Empire Park and get anywhere north of your location very quickly. This makes it a viable option for students looking for a place to live while attending the University of Alberta and anyone working downtown can certainly benefit from this location as well.

* Source: 2006 Census of Canada, Statistics Canada

by +Alan F Macdonald REALTOR® | Copyright © – gimme-shelter.com

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