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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.0 o% i" |5 c, C' G
- S* ]% e. ?& M1 j( X5 KBy 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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- P j% f3 z8 FIt will replace a two-storey complex of low-cost apartments that have been in the south-Edmonton community for 60 years.6 |8 ^1 `+ k& z% v3 z( |8 ^- g b6 K
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Strathearn 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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"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. e! }9 u$ k5 J3 d3 F9 g s* @
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( p) K# T4 a' j' a' C5 ["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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) G7 ]6 O; S8 nJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.# s3 e, E7 M& B) D! @ q3 O# I1 g
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The 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.+ k+ @, j7 q; P1 W
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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., o) i0 q. {6 r
0 Q, [1 Y8 F) t l"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.# V3 N0 Y# T6 v$ Y" V- \" k6 ]
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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.
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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.5 T% H0 |! |/ U
# _: L5 d! D3 |% LConstruction 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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: q% L w# u" E( v6 `) ZThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.3 f. ]9 Q$ h0 O0 d* P
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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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& ~" U0 S2 B# J% y+ e9 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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