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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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- d2 K B7 ^ rBy 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., S2 ?) ^) H, T+ D
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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." p- e! ~6 e% C/ o/ T
! c; H& f" ^3 q$ x; n+ _9 u- I) jStrathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.3 [3 p1 d+ W3 B' k" w' n
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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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" \6 l0 v, P5 k# i$ o, {"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. J/ @) e% D$ M5 m6 d' k" @
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4 m8 C& m6 z7 Z"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.% [0 X: i, N& j* |) z. k$ ~
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John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.
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/ A: h: ^8 K4 k1 \- y( wThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.6 z2 s6 ?4 j4 r& A2 K8 x$ }
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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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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. m4 f* q' _6 @" Y
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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.
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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.2 K, ~% h# Q2 e9 j9 ?7 Y' \
% v. t5 S8 K/ K"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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# K/ n" y% V7 E6 e7 q( jConstruction 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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" s( I, ^, f8 i6 ]This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.6 j( C; J. z; A! u! q
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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.! _3 @. \; e0 w+ l' H8 @/ K
% Y7 R; w$ B+ w5 H* A/ S+ tIt'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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