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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.2 l! K# z9 Y6 G
9 m3 ~* e; |% B6 v8 RBy 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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It 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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$ }& m& {/ A- W( [5 C( h' }Strathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.$ {& {" Y! K* y7 Z+ ^! I
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Residents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.2 h6 y9 ]1 H( S+ `. ^" i& U
+ n' Z/ t0 t& z; H. b"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. . r+ [9 Z$ Q3 h/ }3 ~; S( H
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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.$ ^( x3 b, p: I
2 e, X t# x) x8 N0 d: ~John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.
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) s0 z* O3 S; ^) b4 VThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
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! p5 F# C9 z s* m K"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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0 s; i- h' w- B& FNew life to area: developer& [% Z1 `* H% M# R+ t
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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"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. ]9 ?) v5 `8 D v8 ^9 D# L
0 o1 r! `4 ~1 K: X7 b"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." T% `) u: b _4 [5 z
% z/ _* P m4 q' m1 d4 W) ]Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2009, with the full project taking about 10 years to complete, the developer said.5 J! _6 ?3 v, m6 f _6 g
: K5 C( ?, f% YThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.
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9 p" N2 @2 {: `0 J4 IIn 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. |
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