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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., Q/ K3 N( K7 f0 I
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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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5 P* M& B8 `- J; BIt 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.
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5 c- X5 o1 s. NResidents 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.
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2 ~0 n) H; |- \& a3 ]0 L: D"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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. ?$ W7 O; W0 zJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.
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The developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
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1 n8 g3 I' T* \% }8 m) t9 \2 m# j"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.6 L- V' n2 s; z: B6 u! V! o
1 |3 t% _7 r8 n9 ~9 ONew life to area: developer
, k0 d! w4 O" c, O# W. \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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/ O A- y" Q' g6 V+ a% z. O8 g3 {"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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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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+ S9 a% K8 Q& B7 V% m9 m/ b( Q"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.3 m$ B, l0 R6 y, b8 C0 q- r
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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.
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This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.' }5 Y; ^8 \: x3 Q6 K
/ A! {) }0 @2 g3 XIn 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.* K* _! J/ C3 D6 ^" ?; T9 W* i9 {
& l4 N$ m d8 @ c5 QIt'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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