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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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h5 D/ A, I* lIt 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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% n A8 W' L8 `8 c/ ]Strathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.
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. |1 V) ~; }' q9 p) @; r- k& h5 ^; MResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.
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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. # \% K8 f8 r7 a2 Q/ g
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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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$ E- l* M- E+ @& ~0 f6 IJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote." w4 L. V" V$ n- m9 T8 {
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The developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
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" z2 N7 C* ~: m5 }0 V# }8 L2 f"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." y! N$ ~. Y4 I, n4 b
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New life to area: developer
* N7 t+ f- |( V3 QThe 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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$ J5 [' C1 n% r8 @* V& ]2 x5 S"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.0 c/ p: p; ^* O+ ?
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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.( u0 t, q" H/ ?* F, Q8 |
w$ b2 ~3 a3 B( |$ l, C* }. v( b"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.' r# t7 m0 e2 w
" I) y1 z7 @0 n, P/ 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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This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.% S' r5 B* o( S, Y: w4 D" C
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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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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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