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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.
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" R2 A# ]6 D& g. U0 L0 sBy 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.
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It will replace a two-storey complex of low-cost apartments that have been in the south-Edmonton community for 60 years./ B0 E9 }/ Q8 }5 a' s& E4 W
1 d1 O4 D2 c/ c$ C. AStrathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.- F7 o0 _, K) R) D, H
(CBC)
2 S. U$ R$ Y9 R; a" ], V; ^& BResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.% ]( a! B( ]1 Z4 R
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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.
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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.' _. R; n, D, b6 S
% Z. w+ N& Y# k0 ?, @John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.$ D! f5 V8 D [( L' F$ U% j
6 ?* v; B# W5 I* tThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
: X# h. ]: \$ B! J9 L! q(Nearctic Group)
( s3 i4 I. ~1 B; C" z7 r"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.
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3 {+ D' V9 L8 z+ O0 @1 P) G0 A/ xNew life to area: developer, B8 A! f7 U4 V1 ]! e& ?$ z: B5 T9 X; Z
The 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.5 _" r& n8 z) ~9 }3 {8 ~
& U3 Y) o" P: T2 `7 u"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.- F$ g4 S% s2 E7 E/ l. j8 a
% R- E5 u% x% {" B8 ?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.: _3 T7 h# c. C/ y+ J. W
$ \: e/ u+ M$ X; S"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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# ?! {: ]" A, |, I% z8 gConstruction is expected to start in the summer of 2009, with the full project taking about 10 years to complete, the developer said.' q& D j, {! h' X4 j ?- ^
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This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.
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In 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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6 K" ?8 O C4 N) C, LIt'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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