Council approves high-rise project for Strathearn

水管工

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.

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.

9 P: i" C; n. I, A5 V7 _0 ^4 X. k4 wIt 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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. o# L" U6 c3 j  h) GResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.

6 m8 s, S& t2 @! R1 m* L+ r$ E"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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"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.

' ]- D) Q$ u' Q) z( b# z4 t% |John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.

0 g0 w4 _. C% V2 c' R, iThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
! I) F) n/ E! @& f8 a+ n$ f(Nearctic Group)
9 u* _, O4 g" j3 T) W"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
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.

"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.

! s5 B- u, ~  P4 f6 C"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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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.
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8 v' H3 x* B" PIn 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.

* k1 b6 k* P' _- ?5 B/ y2 t; g8 sIt's part of a push by the city to slow urban sprawl by encouraging more development in older areas of the city.

逛逛

看看这的房子，晕。
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9 ~) u. m: ~4 S8 Phttp://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetail ... ;PropertyID=6638783

3 F$ l$ ]# ~% |3 D8 L5 @http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetail ... ;PropertyID=6676728

catty

用不着几年就价格下来啦。