After the Papaschase dispersed, the area was sold for $3/acre to European immigrants who farmed there until the Province began to secretly assemble a land bank in 1969. The province bought 68% of the nine-square mile parcel of land before the project was publicly announced; the City bought the land from the province over time. In 1970 the City annexed the portions of Mill Woods that were in the County of Strathcona and changed the zoning from low-density agricultural land to general urban use. Once the announcement was made the City continued to negotiate with non-consenting landowners and developers bought up portions of the parcel.
The planning team began work in April and completed the plan within a year. The concept required approval from three levels of government. When the plan was announced it was hailed by the Edmonton Journal as “One of the most comprehensive town planning designs in modern history.” Bounded by 91st and 34th Streets and 51st and 15th Avenues, Mill Woods was conceived of as a ‘city within a city.’ Unlike the American ‘satellite’ town or the British ‘New Town’, the Mill Woods concept directed planned growth within an integral part of the city. At the time, Mayor Dent was quoted as saying that “the Mill Woods development will be among the most attractive ever designed and built” and that he hoped mistakes committed in previous ‘instant cities’ would be avoided. The 6,000 acre site would be developed over 20 years, throughout the 1970s and 80s. The City’s intention was to allow orderly growth at controlled prices that would prevent exploitation and urban sprawl, an experiment in ‘future urban living’. The Mill Woods concept was to:
Encourage a composite and compatible population of a wide range of racial origins, income characteristics and personal backgrounds; stress social values and concerns and encourage citizen participation in evaluation and modification; improve the quality of life through environment; foster social interaction, and meet needs of minority groups.