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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.: q5 i7 D+ ]0 D( s0 y4 ?! R
9 O( D) I& \5 c0 A7 p7 ]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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" S/ w, X; O- fIt 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.
6 h" ?! {4 ^# u* C* k# Z(CBC)
% C0 V% y8 M" k6 X" KResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.
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* R6 h8 `( R) }! \5 E"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. 8 F m# {/ ?) ?$ D" i q* n
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/ F9 Y' y# ~0 i5 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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. t+ }9 o8 ^0 p) sJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.( _4 h _6 z* z/ r6 L) K
. ~4 j' J5 `0 ~. x7 [+ v' qThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
! y# e) v7 B( J2 [: a) i9 b(Nearctic Group)
- Q4 \7 C3 \* Y# B"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.# X# q' q7 U6 Y* D2 q$ t# u$ Y
. U9 J, h( g: q7 ^2 j& w dNew life to area: developer. _& ]$ e' i" L, P; q! y3 ^
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./ }' \" F* ^. [2 V
2 q+ Z. ]* P6 p9 e) }"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.2 _, A) k# o7 D1 [6 a7 o; k# n
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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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+ o+ Q* ^3 W3 D: C) M"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.) Z; h' j I8 ?, `' @+ }$ _. w4 e
: L: h" d! m4 w7 O* JConstruction 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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5 W, Z8 C; A5 j# ~9 bThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.' `0 P$ [6 J! t3 r6 Q' s
/ a& V$ i" r, m1 R+ jIn 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.# E4 N4 g) @1 w+ j
* v5 G6 h2 m' v2 a9 W1 ~, b5 f" a Y* \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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