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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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3 y; E5 ^5 S6 K3 w e/ 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.' T: f" B/ v4 M
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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.3 d) G( F' E5 I% H4 A% r& R1 a
; l [% C9 s% \, V) b9 QStrathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.6 ]% h2 w. a( r9 L2 G0 J2 M$ p0 v
(CBC) 3 L' k/ D3 f- M- W
Residents 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. + O4 L |( d: z5 _# k: A0 c
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/ g8 W# @) G& P% I1 }6 f"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.% j2 x+ P- @, n
/ n3 H* E+ T; [- K# Q& f2 j4 @John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.
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' ^- m' V0 q, W: t8 X5 _The developer's vision of the Strathearn project.4 n; \7 u) T* |; Z- e
(Nearctic Group)
6 S3 w4 [/ I: ] m"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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8 v0 {% o! i' S% V6 ?7 [New life to area: developer
8 U, X3 B) @% P" _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.
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! Z4 L1 K$ t2 g"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., _2 W6 b( U8 T4 O
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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.& T C, ^- ^6 P& ~2 B! ~5 m% T" {* _
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"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.4 M C! i7 z2 ]: i! g+ S3 Y9 h1 f
5 m1 E: e5 H: n8 K1 e1 ~7 HConstruction is expected to start in the summer of 2009, with the full project taking about 10 years to complete, the developer said." |. L; v3 A5 ?8 r! e6 e3 Z. o5 a
. S3 M: B" e8 j6 n. D8 C4 ] yThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.- ^ T1 B$ E8 l' b t
0 Y+ x, i; g2 d; [: r" |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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; k" F! t4 H g% I1 ^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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