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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.' z1 J! ?: V; b! ?
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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./ z5 `5 q" ]: a1 c o
% L: D6 }4 X" ]' S4 F7 XIt 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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Strathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.2 L' m- a' }) Z( H
(CBC) ! \5 C4 r( d- u$ [+ [
Residents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.
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E9 A# U! v& o" q% H"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. 8 F+ M0 v- f; S ~! G! F) r& D
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0 X9 H8 z, F. `"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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John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.9 p+ X& t9 ^0 T, o! p% i
2 l+ J" b" L" }* q1 V8 oThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project." f+ n) o. W( j9 B! L' Y V
(Nearctic Group)
/ V8 j/ i- L$ O& N& q, @6 S"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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8 C0 U. p9 N0 N) S3 i8 N+ KNew life to area: developer
, D6 p; C0 j; f* }( i4 o9 f) d0 mThe 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.) k! O) T: v; T6 k" I
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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., g2 T* W) f) G) k; V
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Edmonton 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.* V$ x T+ ?. D* e; M
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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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Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2009, with the full project taking about 10 years to complete, the developer said.2 S5 K" V! \8 |* d' c# q" T
! r$ \" \$ x$ V5 k% WThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.# x1 C& o' y+ C' R; s) d
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In 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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6 M% s% L* T, |2 m' X; GIt'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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