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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.
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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.
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" ^$ `/ X9 x+ P* CStrathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.
* f, R; k1 L( A/ [, c y(CBC)
7 @0 A4 \/ w. |Residents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.8 U" Y. J _7 ~$ m2 t# F
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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. . R" L; N. b0 P+ @ T
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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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John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.
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" J% Y" d3 F) N6 \7 JThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project." [8 m* I1 \( z9 B
(Nearctic Group)
/ P. k& |6 o# f9 _! n"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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( w5 K b# @5 F/ sNew life to area: developer8 X. a5 `& l2 Z! p$ c/ ?5 R
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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2 E% N! O* A. d* X2 X+ ^"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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8 O; v, R! E- f8 r5 k& |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.
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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.4 ~# x! X, s( e
& l9 D! t, h7 h/ B* }5 p* T1 K: t. h6 OConstruction 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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$ B- ?" {( s# h% B' JThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.
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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.1 T- `0 \( h- n0 k: K
) x7 F8 T* [* N9 RIt'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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