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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.% B: Y1 p" C( S! Y* Q9 N8 n
1 @# ~6 b1 ?4 IBy 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.4 ~9 e( L) s9 {- @
4 ^9 p, j, r: t( N) ?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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Strathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years./ {0 u5 ]. s r& }6 J
(CBC)
: |" G* P! x! O5 f K5 s/ \% GResidents 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. , M! K$ a I! J. ~
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! H1 M) e0 ?+ w# @% X"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.7 O* e; r2 ?' W$ B; t4 ?
7 a; G& M' E) `# {- ? F3 cJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.
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0 f* i. l3 G/ d4 D3 H _. V" B4 nThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
1 i$ }. J* k6 O$ M; S, u. G(Nearctic Group) ; g1 x( `, D |! `+ Q8 A" 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.
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New life to area: developer0 w9 N: L/ M8 V+ @/ U" m9 ^
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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* C+ j9 P8 J6 F" z, v% n1 }. TEdmonton 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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. C; `; \4 k4 O: ~+ V"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.1 q# H5 N2 |4 c
7 N* O5 A4 @4 y& O6 s- oConstruction is expected to start in the summer of 2009, with the full project taking about 10 years to complete, the developer said.1 L0 X9 u7 Q" [1 k$ w4 Y. d
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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.) z& _8 o% a. \0 T: l3 L {3 \
4 _' H9 E/ m9 q5 |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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