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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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$ b, G1 v+ p5 Z2 iBy 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.5 ?1 W' S ~; T) e
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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.9 H9 c: H; q7 D# R7 Y4 Z- g
4 _7 E7 E! q6 p! N& c# rStrathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.+ m. y6 g9 E) {8 K
(CBC)
9 X* F1 `2 Q& \6 V& P, ZResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.
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( b& P+ M0 e& \; [! I$ I( U2 Z"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. / V- T- p( A! W. C" [0 `$ I; z
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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.7 U/ g+ n3 n' {# s' V. Q. D( F
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John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.% W4 f; C! l+ W9 T6 T
' b: B/ V: j; Z- l9 wThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.3 O, B1 \2 i' \) a" F2 P" G' }
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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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- t2 z7 i( a, L5 ENew life to area: developer
+ }7 ]% j; b" Y7 q1 l' }; `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.
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3 |. g) n/ }/ \! m"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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" I6 k0 T, n3 NEdmonton 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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( ^% i, B2 i' l" B/ ^Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2009, with the full project taking about 10 years to complete, the developer said.: O( V5 [# I8 Z+ D' Y# k
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This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.# i- L! Q; e, |2 a
3 e2 ^$ j0 c P) DIn 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.0 u" M! w1 `! Z0 i
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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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