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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.% {$ D8 m. |% I
# P9 O% r L' u6 q6 `; ~* QBy 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.) `- e0 J# w% }& f# b
; d3 y( ]; f6 B. K }It will replace a two-storey complex of low-cost apartments that have been in the south-Edmonton community for 60 years.- v g j. ~) j% \
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Strathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.( p" Y! E! N. h9 b6 {6 l
(CBC)
" U- A4 P0 C, C: g% ~7 a* T: {3 fResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.9 f" |; X7 m% Z) c! m, K8 s
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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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" Q5 T( j6 O0 Q& 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.- U; s/ Z4 {$ J2 T8 V: F) v
$ }/ S0 i4 R1 q6 ]$ y1 _John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.
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The developer's vision of the Strathearn project.1 f- U/ J3 y; W+ P
(Nearctic Group)
! [, L) e, S% 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.
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New life to area: developer
) c% @4 P- G9 p! f* mThe 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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7 j1 K2 }: o; r( a4 K+ u"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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; {1 J; l6 x" v; f2 P3 XEdmonton 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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5 x( B; p9 y. y"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.7 {0 ^* s4 F5 P1 Q" ~/ r5 S7 `- D& t
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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., G1 I6 Y& q$ f4 }# K
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This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.$ w1 v0 B% r/ S1 C+ p8 o
) g; x2 ?* w: g S+ B4 oIn 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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, I$ ?& j J. Q# P+ qIt'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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