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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.
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' a- ?. H1 q/ g, ?; N5 ]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( ?: }6 Y2 m+ sIt 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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/ x7 R9 ^$ M0 m6 ^" v/ H. k8 j' SStrathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.
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9 ]& G3 z/ E2 n# R( M( s FResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.' g a) u3 h1 b1 k5 O% w0 x
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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. 4 ]$ E' D. N) m) g4 V6 l3 f% w
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' G0 \: D( N0 |"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.% L8 K8 b5 r& M$ {/ B
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John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.
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4 N# l# Z1 w% q HThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
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" M: d p. C* ]2 `2 i"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
! p4 B f" H5 v( ~0 G7 c- P% xThe 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.% T$ I( z; ]& X4 m
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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.' B4 d) }' n( o4 d: ]- o- U- m1 e
& y! l( G" H: X% S' 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.* H4 b/ b+ K1 _! }
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"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 v' N8 Z2 W
# r4 P% i) u. u+ @( A( ]Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2009, with the full project taking about 10 years to complete, the developer said.8 v# Q+ A" b1 K) _8 ^
, ~" Q- C5 w, hThis 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.5 M$ }5 v% U9 z% H, h# X
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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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