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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.' J% X. ~5 p( T2 K4 f
$ q: U6 H& X, s0 T( 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.9 C8 F1 h$ Y' U! T$ o0 W9 a4 C* _
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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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+ I! O: w0 ~7 T$ W3 jStrathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years. J+ }% l1 E/ ~- V4 A8 {9 l
(CBC) . M* i3 c4 X( u, y* \+ w8 r9 ^
Residents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.& ?# ]* n4 G- s f8 o; P
e; V4 c) r2 b y) o& L"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. 4 B8 G3 G8 a/ X+ [% @; q
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"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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1 i6 b! @5 a6 ?1 aJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote./ O. Y3 c+ B b. D3 T: l
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The developer's vision of the Strathearn project.) U: k- F3 x6 R
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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.5 ?$ N, A: `" ]# \6 S
" S* @3 e ~2 m% c* d# X! Z6 YNew life to area: developer1 M% F. u1 N8 B$ e* h1 U" t0 g; t
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.$ u& S% K. Z2 w' J v) |' C% H
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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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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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"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- P( o9 c3 B& A1 B
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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.' F4 b$ ]% x1 M! t4 {9 j0 f; L
& M E# X; l* ?3 jThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.8 h8 K2 N- b# {* c+ f
7 @3 d; U9 |5 A% R6 c& 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.7 N5 ~% l$ V/ |
1 m( C& w- V& x4 V0 RIt'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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