Hillcrest Housing Limited

In 1958 the private company Hillcrest Housing Limited was formed to enter the real estate market. Keith was one of the original directors along with lawyer W. Chester S. MacDonald, physician Hubert B. McNeill, businessman G. Lorne Monkley, and former mayor and pharmacist Henry W. Wedge. Keith was the first president and he remained deeply involved in the company throughout his life.

These men came together with the goal of developing housing in the Summerside area, which at the time, was experiencing a shortage. Their primary and most urgent focus was to build homes for the Department of National Defence personnel stationed at the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Base just north of the town of Summerside.

Following the federal election on April 1, 1958, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker supported a major expansion to the Summerside Base to accommodate an Argus submarine patrol squadron. However, the government was not interested in the responsibility of owning more houses. There was also a change in thinking and the contemporary trend was that instead of being isolated on bases, military personnel should be integrated into civilian communities where they could easily participate in church, social and community life.

Anticipating this shortage of accommodation when the Canadian Forces Base expanded, the five businessmen began plans to create new housing. They first explored the area for possible sites, including the Boswell farm owned by Sam Beaton, and the area between Victoria Road and MacEwen Road (on which the Presbyterian Church and the Three Oaks High School are now built). They eventually settled on the Boswell farm and purchased the entire 100-acre property. This farm, located on the crest of a gently sloping hill on the north boundary of the town, became the company’s namesake. Hillcrest Housing Limited was born.

The Hillcrest directors went to Ottawa to meet with officials of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), agent of the Department of National Defence. It was essential that they obtain mortgage financing and the security of a long-term lease for the units. “We will require approximately 675 self-contained units. So we’ll look at the first 100 as a minimum” they were told by the Department of National Defence. Hillcrest had a lot more work to do!

This $1 million project would be 85% financed through a mortgage to CMHC. The directors returned to Summerside and raised the balance of the money by their wives and themselves signing notes at the bank.

Phase 1 of Hillcrest Park (100 units)

A special meeting of Summerside Town Council was called on August 19, 1958. Keith, spokesperson for Hillcrest Housing Limited, asked town councillors to approve the company’s application for the development of 100 homes on the property commonly known as the Boswell Farm, north of the Dominion Experimental Fox Farm and on the west side of Granville Street North. He pointed out that the property was within walking distance to the hospital, schools and Queen Elizabeth Park, so this would make a great area for incoming families.

There were a number of benefits for Summerside to offset the cost of providing essential services such as streets, sidewalks, electricity, and water. The new housing units would address the acute shortage of accommodation in the area. If approved, the building could begin in early October, once the new streets were opened. The project would provide employment for residents who would often be out of work during the fall and winter. Building materials would be purchased, there would be added customers for local businesses, and the town would generate property taxes. Another potential benefit was mail delivery through Canada Post. With the anticipated increase in population, the town would reach the required number of householders needed to obtain street mail delivery, which was not possible in 1958.

With ample evidence of community benefit, the town agreed to service the site with the essential services. On August 20, 1958, The Guardian covered the story and highlighted the boost this project, called Hillcrest Park, would give to winter employment in the area.

Here was Keith Pickard, five years after his graduation from McGill University, about to embark on the design of an entire community— complete with traffic flow, spaces for families, a park, with the potential for further, additional housing. Keith’s team bustled in excitement as they prepared the site plans for Hillcrest Park with the layout of houses, streets, and green spaces. This development would change the landscape of Summerside, and was the first of a number of significant buildings in the Summerside area which were designed by Keith and his team.

The low-cost homes were a combination of duplexes and row houses. Draftsman Aubrey C. MacKinnon drew plans for two-storey homes with three or four bedrooms and full basements. After the original plans were drafted, there were constant meetings, conferences and negotiations between the various agencies involved. At every step, agreement needed to be reached between the Hillcrest directors, CMHC and the federal government, including cost, rental rates, and terms of rental. The houses were designed to meet specifications prescribed by CMHC and built of concrete, wood, brick veneer and solid brick, chosen for their economic practicality and durability. The team not only felt the pressure of the demanding meeting schedule, there was also the stress of addressing the shortage of housing and answering to the town of Summerside, in the face of this looming shortage for air force personnel.

Once the plans were finally approved, the necessary road building, sewer and water needed to be installed before they could break ground on October 31, 1958. Because of the urgency of the housing situation, the company made arrangements with the M.F. Schurman Company of Summerside to do the general contracting for the first 100 units – the largest building project on the Island. The plan was to build 22 units during the fall and winter and start the remaining 78 units in the spring.

On October 30th, an announcement in The Guardian described the project as “a milestone in the expansion of Summerside”. Dignitaries at the sod turning included Group Captain J. E. Creeper, commanding officer of the RCAF Station; his Worship Mayor W.A. Currie; members of Summerside’s town council; Dr. O.H. Phillips, M.P; and company officials. The Guardian featured a photo of the bulldozer and a photo of the five Hillcrest directors was taken. It was a proud day for the company.

But with the photo session complete, the winter weather loomed, and the actual construction began in earnest. The January 10, 1959 Guardian published a photo and talked about the bitter cold weather. The contractors worked on the third block of row houses; the roof was on the first block and the roof on the second row house was completed on January 9^th. By the following summer, 18 houses of the first 100 units were completed, inspected, and accepted by the inspectors for the occupancy of air force personnel and their families. L.A.C. and Mrs. Raymond Parks, and their two daughters Cindy and Judy, were the first family to move into their modern new home.

Phase 2 of Hillcrest Park (200 units)

On March 2, 1960 The Guardian reported the announcement from Ottawa that 200 additional homes were approved to be built in Summerside to house increased personnel at the RCAF Base. There was a certain amount of pride associated with the work that Hillcrest was doing.

“It’s the biggest single thing that ever happened in Summerside,” His Worship Mayor W.A. Currie said in a news article. There isn’t a business that won’t benefit and Summerside must be about the fastest growing town in the Maritimes.”

In the early part of 1960, the federal government sought proposals for the location and plan of this 200 unit development, and naturally Hillcrest Housing Limited was one of several companies to present a proposal. While they already had Phase 1 underway, it was a democratic process and their position in it was never guaranteed. The front page headlines of the October 7, 1960 Journal-Pioneer caused a great deal of interest with the report that a $2 million contract between Hillcrest and CMHC was nearing completion and the project would definitely proceed. However, one of the many issues to be worked out was the valuation of the lots which related to Hillcrest’s equity in the project. Once Hillcrest was approved to move forward with Phase 2, the entire process was set to be repeated: building permits, municipal services, negotiations and meetings, fulfilling CMHC requirements, and securing financing.

Phase 2 of Hillcrest Park was on the east side of Granville Street North. The need for housing was so urgent at that time that the commencement of the 200 units began before the first 100 were completed. The Department of National Defence required that the construction of the 200 units go through the tender process. When the tender was awarded to Eastern Woodworkers of Nova Scotia, the decision caused tremendous disappointment at the M. F. Schurman Company, which carried Phase 1 through many development issues and financial challenges. There was also the feeling that Island firms were being overlooked and local labourers would not be shown preference in the affair.

November of 1961 brought a prolonged period of mild weather and rain, which resulted in unprecedented muddy conditions. With a project of this size and impact, it was not surprising that many photos and updates on its progress appeared in The Guardian. On December 6, 1961 the paper reported that the mud conditions necessitated the layoff of about 130 men – carpenters, laborers and tradesmen - at Hillcrest Park. The layoff caused delays in completing the 200 units. All means were used to keep the work going and they resorted to using horses when it became impossible to move materials by truck. The scene was devastating - even the horses got stuck in the deep mud. With the building site saturated, water seeped into basements, causing damage to the new foundations. Winter construction was not for the faint of heart, and every delay and mishap was promptly reported on in the newspaper the next day.

In the spring, when finally the weather cooperated, the work resumed and the houses were completed.

Phase 3 of Hillcrest Park (375 units)

Originally, Phase 3 of the housing was to be an additional 375 housing units, which were to be built north of Summerside. However, by this time there were numerous local landlords applying to build units and provide rental housing for military personnel. Disappointingly the Department of National Defence cancelled this final phase of its original program.

After Phase 3 was cancelled, Hillcrest Housing Limited continued to build homes for civilians, commercial properties and also a tourism development in New London, known as the Hebrides.

Agents of Change

The Hillcrest Housing Development was a wonderful experience for the company’s five original directors, who became known as up-and-coming leading citizens of Summerside. These young men, who showed both determination and energy for their housing project, were not concerned with making money quickly, but rather focused on their long term goals.

With this foresight, they knew that such a housing development would be for the betterment of their town. It is also interesting to note that these men served the community in many civic, provincial, and national spheres. Their participation in the success of Hillcrest Park helped the town of Summerside to prosper for years to come.

Hillcrest Park - Catalyst for development

During the 1958-1983 period Hillcrest Housing Limited, due to the long sighted vision of the company’s five original directors, as well as determination and energy, built 300 housing units in Hillcrest Park. To coincide with the development of Hillcrest Park, a great building boom took place in the town of Summerside. This included Summerset Manor, the Public Health Building on Granville Street, senior citizens housing, Athena High School, Prince County Vocational School and Crest Lanes Ltd., all designed by Keith and his staff. It is recognized by most observers that the catalyst for this general area and the north end of Summerside was Hillcrest Park and the spin-off was very substantial. As an aside, the town’s population did increase to the necessary level to have house-to-house mail delivery which started on October 1, 1962.

It is interesting to think of the hundreds of families who made their homes in Hillcrest Park over the years and became involved in the community. This housing development was the largest in the Island’s history and was designed to provide a comfortable living space for families who moved many times during their military service.

Keith believed in planning and felt the entire Island could be developed like a park with private, commercial and industrial properties attractively designed to blend in with the landscape.

And he would continue to do just that.

Sources: Hillcrest Housing Limited, The First 25 Years ,1958-1983, edited by Margot MacDonald and printed by Alfa-Graphics (1972) Ltd. in Summerside, Prince Edward Island. This book was written to commemorate the company and also to show the effects it had on the development of Summerside as a community. The M.F. Schurman Company Limited of Prince Edward Island, A Century of Building, written by Margaret M. MacFarlane, pages 130-132. Extracts from The Guardian August 20, 1958; October 30, 1958; November 1, 1958; January 10, 1959; October 2, 1959; March 2, 1960; October 13, 1960; January 19, 1961; April 11, 1961; July 12, 1961; December 6, 1961; and The Journal-Pioneer October 7, 12, 13, 1960; October 19, 1961. http://airforcemuseum.ca/eng/?page_id=524