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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., k+ X; |2 M/ h6 |4 l6 ]
7 H* ~4 d, n+ p" HBy 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.0 H1 T0 X% T# q/ R5 T8 Y* J! K
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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.& t0 ]) n( o5 i5 D
( H$ U7 Z' t: T) h4 M) g: k& U4 J8 dStrathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.1 W( I9 Q: L% E& K+ I6 n& T
(CBC)
# g* z) A) n& B1 I4 r {Residents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community./ q& [: R8 t' U, e4 Z" c+ g
1 M! V* \3 q3 ?3 q1 u4 g"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. - [5 w7 d! M# U7 `/ u$ r f2 x4 ?
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" u% d& V0 z3 ]" M# h"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.
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: z7 F6 S# b3 C; fJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.
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8 q+ L9 o; f( G; y/ ~8 ~4 Q. E: OThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project. U& R! O) j0 M, }5 X
(Nearctic Group)
% o8 p. e) m. N1 S* E9 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.9 U6 F' G" k0 t- o+ v
9 ~+ C3 A7 i! b5 M9 _, v/ K, p8 ~New life to area: developer
) M4 O Q/ ^0 L8 Z2 }" e6 t% ^$ lThe 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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9 u. `; G. l: J" b"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.: U6 G: h8 E6 z# e
+ j, r; P5 \. }" {7 QEdmonton 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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Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2009, with the full project taking about 10 years to complete, the developer said.. |" ~. t; e" ]$ z) u$ r/ }
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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.+ X) l k. X- H% H: j: a# `& e% p
2 c' }9 E4 e/ m) ^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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