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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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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.+ O, J: y1 }( }6 S# J
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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.% Y4 I' D0 B2 F! a; @5 T/ i+ T, a
0 n7 r* A5 c: w% x* nStrathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.
9 b4 E9 H, A; d; x! N! N3 w(CBC)
# M5 H0 ? W9 V: i: yResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.2 u+ f: y; {2 N+ Z* @; \
- V7 E; S( [- E% U# G" m3 B& E"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. 3 K2 u, ?* X- ^0 I5 b
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$ n3 c$ v& R: B9 t$ @! M8 w1 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." y9 n# {8 h3 @, a. k8 U3 {9 l. v
8 w' i0 }% M; K8 F% c7 x( CJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.9 }# Q' v7 H; W: A i' _
7 q& b' v3 ?: [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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. U' a# S6 K6 E) m5 x7 }New life to area: developer
0 V$ G1 E, D" r' Y, kThe 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.
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1 B8 `4 l' p/ B- wEdmonton 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.% ~/ |5 I% h, ]6 V0 W
) k/ k1 e$ `& ?6 R( U% i5 f+ z4 |"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.3 O- T8 K! z1 g4 C* p: ^0 H
+ l2 B- @# u9 C- q; U. q% RThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.% |. Y) W; m2 f \# {
% I$ ^8 [8 ?3 hIn 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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发表于 2008-2-29 13:48
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