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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.+ T6 z+ p4 i4 V$ F. h
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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. O2 F( b$ ^2 j( t ?& {
9 {) {% R8 U( F1 k8 q! NIt 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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. `5 M! D9 N7 t# c' y" SStrathearn 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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"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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"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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5 _+ A4 Q4 \, `John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.
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4 C# B* U) J# g( R xThe 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.0 Y* p) B1 K3 s5 P7 O. \5 K' y+ M
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New life to area: developer
& D; G: ]! o+ ]7 v0 U# m1 gThe 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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# j3 I. o0 S! Z5 E REdmonton 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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( v( M, @2 [# L% u0 L4 x2 NConstruction 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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% O0 ~* x* \0 w# @This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.2 g7 [' v5 q, M9 c2 z
( S3 d! Y: z/ |& s l! S. iIn 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.% G& a9 q4 x- W4 ?
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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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