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.

' q5 F3 J1 |/ Y9 `It will replace a two-storey complex of low-cost apartments that have been in the south-Edmonton community for 60 years.

Strathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.
(CBC)
Residents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.

"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.

, X; O, J( ~- N" A3 O- JJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.

The developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
% B% u7 |1 r1 {0 q$ _(Nearctic Group)
"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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8 r, p" F" k# `  _* v3 Y) o! ]New life to area: developer
% @$ b: }, C. _: PThe 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.

0 H/ k6 X$ H- b4 z# T"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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" O- z- ?2 Y9 ^+ PEdmonton 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.

: _9 |9 ], V# V6 H* p. u3 v2 E"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.

7 b0 d" Q4 g9 aConstruction 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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) o8 s- h5 L; U. n7 Z+ @& VThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.

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.

逛逛

看看这的房子，晕。
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http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetail ... ;PropertyID=6638783
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' G+ O! {7 c& G! f- ^8 Q. a; }http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetail ... ;PropertyID=6676728

catty

用不着几年就价格下来啦。