today's edmonton journal news

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http://www.edmontonjournal.com/h ... /8627788/story.html

5 P3 {$ a, d. ~5 k! EAnglican church enthusiastic about homeless housing project on its Terwillegar land
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" z* q$ ]+ d0 AEDMONTON - Rev. Nick Trussell was humbled last year when members of his Terwillegar Towne church turned down a developer’s offer to buy the whole property in favour of leasing some unused land for a housing development catering to the formerly homeless.

8 D' D( V6 ~" Q  k; H7 \( h“I walked into the meeting, selfishly hoping we would sell,” Trussell said Sunday, explaining he had great visions for expansion of the church at a new location.
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“When they all spoke in favour of leasing I was humbled and then I realized; we are the only place where this could happen.”
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This led to Holy Trinity Riverbend Anglican Church’s decision to lease part of its land near 156th Street and 14th Avenue to Jasper Place Health and Wellness Centre, which hopes to build a supportive housing development.

If it goes ahead, the controversial project would be the first housing facility of its nature in the southwest Edmonton community.
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While the congregation was debating the land issue, Trussell spoke with Bishop Jane Alexander of the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton. “We are changing the political, physical and spiritual landscape of Terwillegar Towne and Edmonton,” Trussell says he told the bishop.
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As Trussell recalled, Alexander replied, “Well, did you think loving the poor would be easy?”
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& L- w& M  w8 D5 R4 n3 kThis year, the Anglican Church of Canada identified homelessness and affordable housing as a social justice priority in its annual joint assembly declaration. The church outlined the need to act in partnership with all levels of government and to support initiatives that address the challenge of finding suitable housing for Canada’s homeless.
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' G2 W+ w  w5 @. v' @8 sThe proposed $12.1 million development would be operated by the Jasper Place Health and Wellness Centre. It would be funded by the Alberta government and Homeward Trust. Tenants would get rent subsidies and support services based on their needs.

Zoning is in place but a development permit has not been granted.
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# J9 v0 b/ C, m% zThe funding arrangement requires a community consultation. The first of such meetings will be a public information session Aug. 22, with the location still to be determined.

9 w& w$ Z$ h9 Z$ b2 ^, yHoly Trinity parishioner Daphne Wold lives in Terwillegar Towne. After Sunday’s church service she said she can hardly wait for the development to be constructed.

“Here we are giving people a healthy neighbourhood to live in,” she said.
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. i; Z1 Q) ~1 d% ?. y: }; h) x1 EMany residents told the Journal last week they were shocked to learn about the development. One community member, Emily Salsbury, said she fears the location isn’t right for the type of housing as the neighbourhood lacks the resources to support it.

" [, R  Q2 y6 H* |; k% T$ ?8 ^7 qThe plan for the development has been in the works for the last three years. The lease between the Jasper Place group and church was finalized in March of this year.
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! B0 E7 X5 E, X' ~! vOne of Edmonton’s largest concentrations of social housing is located in the inner-city McCauley neighbourhood.
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6 D' J/ l" q9 ~* `) g: V& `' aMeredith Porter, the president of the McCauley Community League, said it’s time for other neighbourhoods to begin to diversify their housing stock. A 60-unit apartment building is hardly going to change the face of Terwillegar Towne, she said.
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! [2 G' @+ B5 ?$ P“It’s time for these types of changes to happen in the city of Edmonton,” Porter said. “It’s not going to look like McCauley.”
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