Kensington is a neighbourhood located in west Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada that began construction in 2013. Around 2028, Kensington will reach completion and have an estimated population of 8,300. Kensington will feature Saskatoon's first application of the fused grid street network.
History
From 1968 to 2005, a local greenhouse used of land in the area as its primary tree nursery. Remnants of shelterbelts remained prior to development. The land that includes Kensington was annexed between 2000 and 2005. The first concept drawings of Kensington appeared in the Blairmore Sector Concept Plan in 2005. Saskatoon City Council approved the neighbourhood plan on April 16, 2012.
No plans exist yet for recreation facilities within the community, although the community plan shows the usual allotment of neighbourhood parks. A regional recreation facility, Shaw Centre, is located in the Blairmore Suburban Centre to the south.
Commercial
The neighbourhood concept plan identifies two commercial zones: a mixed-use commercial/residential area on the edge of the community immediately north of 22nd Street, and smaller neighbourhood commercial further to the north; the former of which was under development as of 2016, with the city's first Save-On-Foods location opening in the summer of 2017. Additional commercial is shown on current City planning maps being zoned along Neault Road to the west. Kensington is located immediately adjacent and north of the commercial district within the Blairmore Suburban Centre which includes Wal-Mart and other big box commercial.
Institutional
The community plan for Kensington incorporates the former Yarrow Youth Farm, a correctional facility for at-risk youth, which was annexed into Saskatoon with the rest of the Blairmore region. In March 2012, the City of Saskatoon was in negotiations with the province to relocate the facility. The provincial government announced the closure of the facility in January 2015. By October 2015, the 40-acre site was for sale.
Location
Kensington is located within the Blairmore Suburban Development Area. It is bounded by the west boundaries of the Confederation Park and Pacific Heights neighbourhoods to the east, Highway 14 to the south, and the remained of the Blairmore Development Area to the north and west. The proposed northern extension of Saskatchewan Highway 7 will form the western boundary and link to the western access point into Kensington. Access from the south will be via Kensington Boulevard ; access from the east will be provided via extensions of Diefenbaker Drive and Centennial Drive and 33rd Street West serves as a partial northern boundary for the neighbourhood; the street was realigned to make way for Kensington's development. Childers Crescent replaced Monck Avenue as the neighborhood's eastern boundary.
