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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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2 L$ E% x5 |4 r$ P3 b4 K2 E: pBy 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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V8 m* I A; D% UIt 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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Strathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.9 u: t! b: | I* g, P& k6 C
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Residents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.0 ^. L: [/ G! \9 m
& ]$ e! h3 p, W# n( ["There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. ( z4 `9 y) @, Q2 }4 o K
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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., u8 ?- B, ? e4 `7 n
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John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.4 h( }! Z9 @% S
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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.
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0 c4 b* `3 q' l' e; V1 YNew life to area: developer- L9 W5 S2 D5 f# z t2 R- |4 q
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.8 a+ P' Q. M. q ]+ m7 ?
5 V" W7 D0 F7 tEdmonton 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.$ B& q b! F! g# c
! ~. \/ E; ~0 T* n1 |! c6 S8 t"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.% C3 y; h' o( U6 H/ ]6 ]' I) a
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Construction 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.$ ^! O) s1 n& r4 ^; g
$ m1 q+ o6 o/ c, D* \' wIn 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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