The City of St. John’s has released neighbourhood plans for Rennie’s River, and Central and Mundy Pond, setting a clear direction for how these communities will grow and change in the years ahead.

“Residents and businesses shared what they value about their neighbourhoods and where they see opportunities for improvement,” said Councillor Tom Davis, Planning lead. “These plans take that local perspective and turn it into a clear framework for how each neighbourhood can evolve over time.”

St. John’s is divided into 29 neighbourhoods, setting out the project areas for Neighbourhood Plans. These plans take the broad goals of Envision St. John’s, the City’s Municipal Plan, and apply them at a local level.

The Central and Mundy Pond neighbourhoods have been studied together due to their close proximity and many shared characteristics. Neighbourhood boundaries can be viewed through MapCentre.

The new plans provide direction for land use, heritage, building types, transportation upgrades, and park improvements, while reflecting the unique character of each neighbourhood. As legally binding documents, neighbourhood plans ensure that all future development in these areas must align with their policies.

Each plan outlines strategies to accommodate growth and achieve its vision, summarized below. 

Strategies from the Rennie’s River Neighbourhood Plan:

1. Rennie’s River Neighbourhood Intensification Area: Focus highest intensity, mixed-use growth in the existing Torbay Road and Macdonald Drive Intensification Area with integrated walking routes, active transportation, and transit to provide more housing opportunities close to neighbourhood services.
2. Elizabeth Avenue Mixed-Use Corridor: Transition this corridor from car-oriented commercial and office area to a walkable street-oriented mixed-use area in coordination with planned pedestrian and bike improvements along this corridor.
3. Rennie’s River Trail and Park Improvements: Conduct minor improvements to wayfinding and trail amenities to support pedestrian use and safety, while retaining the natural experience along the trail. Through further engagement with the community, conduct improvements to parks throughout the neighbourhood to increase year-round use and accessibility.
4. Churchill Square Neighbourhood Hub: Continue to reinforce Churchill Square’s role as a mixed-use neighbourhood hub by supporting existing businesses, allowing additional mixed-use redevelopment, and formalizing an outdoor community gathering space in Churchill Park.
5. Georgestown and Ecclesiastical District: Support the sensitive adaptation of designated Heritage Buildings for new uses to encourage tourism, employment, and community gathering and improve the pedestrian experience and vibrancy of the Ecclesiastical District. Support existing and new local commercial uses that fit within the heritage context of the area while continuing to support medium density residential in Georgestown.

Strategies from the Central and Mundy Pond Neighbourhood Plan:

1. LeMarchant Road Neighbourhood Centre: Define a neighbourhood centre that supports a mix of commercial, service, and community-oriented uses while enabling residential development around this core. Support this neighbourhood centre by allowing higher intensity mixed-use development along LeMarchant Road to help the ongoing commercial renewal throughout Central.
2. Ropewalk Lane Intensification Area: Support expanded mixed-use opportunities along Ropewalk Lane and invest in the public realm, recognizing and leveraging its strategic location between Wishingwell Park and Mundy Pond.
3. Adams Avenue Intensification Areas: Positively guide the ongoing evolution of this corner of Central into a more complete community with a range of housing choices, access to parks and open space, and local commercial opportunities.
4. Empire Avenue Neighbourhood Infill: In conjunction with Wishingwell Park and the St. John’s Community Market, recognize the potential of this brownfield redevelopment site to further serve a range of community needs in the future, from commercial to recreational to institutional uses.
5. Employment Areas: Blackmarsh Road, Crosbie Road, and Empire Avenue contain a dynamic mix of legacy commercial and industrial businesses as well as residential, institutional, and vacant land. Further redevelopment and growth of businesses in these areas is encouraged while managing the interface between residential, industrial, and commercial uses.
6. Mixed-Use Hubs: Enhance three mixed-use areas; the Cookstown Road commercial cluster as a key gateway between Central and Downtown, the ongoing emergence of Freshwater Road as a future mixed-use corridor, and continued commercial development along Water Street West that recognizes this street’s historic connection and proximity to Downtown.
7. High Density Residential: Recognize and enable higher-density residential in key areas throughout the neighbourhoods, including along Empire Avenue, Buckmaster’s Circle, and Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC) lands, in order to provide new housing forms in close proximity to established amenity areas.
8. Parks and Open Space Improvements: Through further engagement with the community, conduct improvements to parks throughout the neighbourhood to increase year-round use and accessibility.

The Neighbourhood Plans were shaped by two phases of extensive public engagement, where residents, businesses, and other interested parties shared their vision and ideas. Feedback was gathered online and in person through surveys, project pages, pop-up events, meetings, and other outreach activities.

The plans will be presented to Council during the Committee of the Whole Council meeting on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Next steps in the neighbourhood plan process include provincial review and a public hearing held in 2027.

The Rennie’s River, and Central and Mundy Pond Neighbourhood Plans are part of the City’s Housing Accelerator Fund Action Plan, which supports sustainable growth and density.

The City of St. John’s has a strategic direction to be a Sustainable City, planning for land use while preserving and enhancing the natural and built environment for residents. The Rennie’s River, and Central and Mundy Pond Neighbourhood Plans play a key role in advancing this direction.

Related Links:

• Engage St. John’s Project Page – Rennie’s River
• Engage St. John’s Project Page – Central and Mundy Pond
• Envision St. John’s Municipal Plan
• Neighbourhood Plans
• Media Release (Phase 1): City Releases What We Heard Reports for Rennie’s River, Central and Mundy Pond Neighbourhoods
• Media Release (Phase 2): City Releases What We Heard Reports for Rennie’s River, Central and Mundy Pond Neighbourhoods