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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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5 e) } S3 q" u9 Y+ ?. [/ i" d9 tBy 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.% W" M: ?/ H) t& z8 x. B6 |7 b
/ n( @, l2 X# e$ K4 O* iIt will replace a two-storey complex of low-cost apartments that have been in the south-Edmonton community for 60 years.( K6 h( i k. g7 @; D
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Strathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.& x& x2 z+ f T( P7 z
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Residents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.3 o8 ~0 Z/ r( p8 R/ n% @
6 Q$ O7 }1 J3 W+ U6 {"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980.
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( `$ l) {6 x. g"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.1 h: I1 W E8 Y" G$ y+ N' a/ s
( V1 }" p' s# k- yThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.9 N5 f$ h( x7 w; _# V: ~$ s7 w
(Nearctic Group)
, {8 b% u; W X" J0 O- v: h( 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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New life to area: developer
0 N5 V$ m5 ~2 u x, CThe 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." a5 P& k, z" E% i8 K! _$ J/ u4 t. N
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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.! L$ f; ~; |) m8 ?4 T7 n
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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.
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1 B7 k/ j5 p4 ~, \# dConstruction 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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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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+ _7 |% F) d) U: z' G& }! l8 S; lIt'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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