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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.6 ~; |1 P% E8 z, B
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By 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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: |# _2 v6 m! e$ D8 n& vIt will replace a two-storey complex of low-cost apartments that have been in the south-Edmonton community for 60 years.
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( T4 i: V+ |4 l+ LStrathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.
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Residents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.
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$ U X- R; {& X9 x; ^) l"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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9 J6 k2 Y; P; Y ?; c- b"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.4 I( R% c1 T* Y$ M
; E8 b! y; m& o3 |- UJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.
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7 f' i' g2 s) ]. S) ]The developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
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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: C0 i {2 {) F# g/ N
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New life to area: developer9 p1 f5 A8 e) r c$ w
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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"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.$ }; v& s0 o& A( B2 Z8 B" k+ G
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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.
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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.
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9 \; ~3 x/ ]3 Z4 w& tConstruction is expected to start in the summer of 2009, with the full project taking about 10 years to complete, the developer said.9 Q, l7 D" M. }% I8 C
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This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.
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% l# U2 W0 v: N: MIn 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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9 e9 g3 D9 _6 y( ?; |% kIt'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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