| Saint-Roch was first settled in 1620 by the Recollects (a Franciscan order) who built a small church dedicated to Saint Roch. The settlement remained mostly rural until the first half of the 19th century when Saint-Roch became a major shipbuilding site. From the mid-19th century to the 1960s, rue Saint-Joseph was the main commercial street in Quebec City but during the second half of the 20th century, the district fell into decline and was considered the most impoverished district of the City. Much of the neighborhood was also destroyed with the construction of highway 440 overpass helping open up the City to new suburban development. Fortunately the fortunates of Saint-Roach have turned around since the late 90s with major investments on rue Saint-Joseph, the creation of Quebec City’s 2nd Dwtn concentrated along Boulevard Charest, and major investment in parks along the river and Victoria Park. Rue Saint Joseph has regained its status as one of Quebec’s best commercial districts and is now an in-demand urban neighborhood of Quebec an the edge of Vieux Quebec City. |
Click here to view my Saint Roch album on Flickr
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* Lots of mid sized office buildings along Boulevard Charest E. This is probably Quebec City’s secondary Dwtn after the dwtn cluster along Boulevard Honoré-Mercier.
* Wonderful promenade blvd street inside of Bd Langelier.
* Excellent neighborhood biz district along Rue Saint-Joseph
* For sale pricing is reasonable with a good # of 1-bed condos selling btwn 100K-300K, 2-beds 200K-500 and 3 & 4 beds btwn 300K-500 but not much product.
* Access to parks thanks to the riverside parks, Victoria Park, and several smaller parks throughout the neighborhood.
* Great concentration of food and beverage bizs, a couple breweries. Decent cultural amenities including a couple performing arts theaters, several art galleries, and a couple night clubs and music venues. Very convenient access to all the cultural amenities in Vieux Quebec.
* Great retail amenities including lots of local and unique shops along Saint Joseph.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Architecture is so . The modern office towners along Blvd Charest E. are pretty bland and most of the historic rowhouses are without much ornamentation. Some good historic commercial architecture along Boulevard Charest E.
* Tree canopy is so so.
* Modern ADA curb cuts are largely non-existent.
* Rentals are a bit pricy.
Evaluating our Urban Communities [with a focus on America] 