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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.5 I+ A2 U2 J" K- N% `) C
7 [ |7 _. C0 o, p3 Q& m& f* FBy 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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: v; q! f4 A7 h( v* BIt 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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7 a. d, ?! k" W0 [9 W3 ~ [% [Strathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.) y% D' _( ~9 K4 P: f
(CBC)
* J2 Y3 `8 d1 a# @/ JResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.
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3 O) o* s7 _1 p; P) {"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. 1 ~( _. l, H5 V* a
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. _6 H% a. v7 L5 R"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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/ l; ]/ I+ b0 {% ~- E( D- _3 DJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.6 E- L. j7 c7 A3 Y# ^
s' u& B8 M4 [% t, QThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
/ U+ C% x+ ~4 {. k(Nearctic Group)
; s. ]3 T8 \) X. \2 w+ p$ S" 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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7 t Q8 y: ?4 I( o# ]New life to area: developer
, x. o1 t6 }! K6 }. T6 a* j9 q" zThe 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.8 n4 D8 U% T: Y3 x
8 f9 X: f- V0 L6 qEdmonton 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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"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.2 c; f% U% |( H' @. z
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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.: N" g0 _# m( [) g* k
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This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.* _& G f6 j; r0 O" f7 U! ~
B* Y. P6 Z3 aIn 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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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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