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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.1 J2 S' [+ D- K5 U
1 x/ V# ]$ B/ T8 F# w! JIt 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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) p$ t0 S1 o8 Q9 @4 @. AStrathearn 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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/ W! h, _* C6 u! n. R! D& d8 t# C"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. 3 H6 ?; @3 K) n' o
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! q0 q- C$ v7 n) s: ?9 ~" \" 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./ N& p3 u/ m# h8 d, |
. B% ~- c9 _$ y1 j# nJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.2 n0 k' N4 B6 i0 \
6 o5 H7 {# U4 g9 h, mThe 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.% r# \$ n/ l$ {
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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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"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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) [6 {7 z5 d7 t* s3 p& Y2 B; ]" AEdmonton 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.) ?# s" i; p( i0 m# Z$ a. H
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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.; P1 J$ M! e9 N
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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.
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This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.
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9 ^# K( E* {7 V% PIn 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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