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Edmonton city council gave the go ahead Thursday night to a controversial 1,750-unit housing development in the long-established community of Strathearn, overlooking the River Valley.$ N* s2 E5 r. Y- Q
0 Z3 L. u% A: Q( U& Z0 r* P$ N' LBy a vote of 12-1, councillors supported the mix of high-rises towers, ranging from 20 to 24 storeys, combined with townhouses and retail space, to be developed on a nine-hectare site.% R1 @6 j1 P1 @0 v8 e
0 `$ r0 Z) ~8 _It will replace a two-storey complex of low-cost apartments that have been in the south-Edmonton community for 60 years. d! V$ D9 y/ h/ h1 R# A
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Strathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.
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4 G0 H, c1 }! b2 P) YResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.
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"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. 8 }* `& _. J0 ^
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"Those reasons are going to be gone once this project reaches its full potential. We'll have to see whether or not we're going to stay," he said., [" v# M% I" `, X6 h0 H! t2 Q6 W0 _. B
* \# o( x% `# T3 EJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.* o/ Z4 }: V" D4 _; }5 k
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The developer's vision of the Strathearn project. k( a! f$ k, x" @0 U; P1 }
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"I am appalled. I think that from the beginning the wishes from the community and of the people most directly affected have been ignored in a way that I've never seen before in the 30 odd years that I've been involved in community affairs," Logan said.' B" d# ~4 A8 f& S
* x/ E/ A7 b8 n/ hNew life to area: developer
) O7 J( H7 _8 Y" \1 \+ _ jThe developer insists the project will breathe new life into an aging community, turning it into a modern, mixed-use neighbourhood on the edge of the city's downtown.
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) f V9 T# ?5 ], S0 a9 K% k7 W"We feel now we can present the city with a leading-edge design development that integrates within the community, and we can hardly wait to get started," said Guy St. Germaine with the Nearctic Group.) ^0 Q- w0 t; i+ @9 i, P. N4 u; ]
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Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel was among those who voted in favour of the project. He said the developer's promise to help build 400 units of affordable housing was a major factor for him.9 H! K, ?- t2 ]6 ]# L U& H
' `+ `" M4 }8 M"We are having a tremendous challenge in meeting the housing needs of people who are moving to this city and if we don't do something about that we will be in trouble," Mandel said.
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* _# @) u2 ^) q! n9 A/ Q$ OConstruction is expected to start in the summer of 2009, with the full project taking about 10 years to complete, the developer said.
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This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.! L9 b+ c" l: D) k
* |0 Y1 E/ d+ V8 KIn January, council gave the go-ahead for a high-rise development in the west end community of Glenora, which will see four towers as high as 21 storeys built.
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It's part of a push by the city to slow urban sprawl by encouraging more development in older areas of the city. |
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发表于 2008-2-29 13:48
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