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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.! A6 v& S5 r; L7 ?8 E
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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.
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Residents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.
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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. 0 ~: c; O4 ^$ M/ n% X- t: ?
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0 T3 i7 |6 L' j"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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John Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.6 A" J8 e5 [) [ r
) W- i5 \' ]: HThe 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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7 x4 w, | o7 U( t# L$ iNew life to area: developer
$ _$ T0 F% N2 R" v% L1 o5 G' rThe 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 e9 q3 B( J8 c" X5 ^- X2 n2 {"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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) L; r8 {: i# B; [' _"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.
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& w- y" c" q+ w8 z4 QConstruction is expected to start in the summer of 2009, with the full project taking about 10 years to complete, the developer said.) ?# h) l; i5 ]# z- }) p9 C# r% _
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This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.4 k9 c& v: G; K5 e7 ]% q+ c
4 w* f0 s0 e, J) e( A, c+ rIn 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.1 |! o0 E4 p! Z& w' g8 }
2 J d. d1 L" \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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