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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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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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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.7 |1 F: B4 R' p
(CBC)
- F& H9 d- M- v8 d) |+ K- \Residents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.1 _6 }- n& q0 i. I9 ^$ T, u
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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.
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7 I h) T. S6 m"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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) o& x8 y6 Q5 w% K& w! mJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.3 n" i+ O! w# \: A9 C
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The developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
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"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: developer9 g( F0 J' X- W& [( d
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.* K" q0 _) J2 d0 `! n, Y
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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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! M& u: x" b+ X7 \) Y4 U! FEdmonton 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.) ]" y8 Y0 j6 q0 l
0 A& ^; O, R) ?"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.: v* b4 a" J1 ^4 Q& \) S9 N# J: S
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Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2009, with the full project taking about 10 years to complete, the developer said.. p0 c5 D0 [9 l; M
& b; @' t: ^' aThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.! @- [! L X$ L4 |/ x
) l' t8 Y: D7 ~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.6 j1 k# e4 T+ I6 C Q
& t. V# f7 Y7 g$ x) ~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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