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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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; T* k0 `& O w5 h7 m1 t9 \* M1 l4 @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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1 @, E! b# B9 N2 A' X/ k"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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, a9 s1 A0 S: q& f. g"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.$ X2 K& b4 a% G- {6 W) }
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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.
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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.$ R3 P: G4 M v2 \3 ?3 o
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8 D7 p( W; b! TThe 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.4 d$ k, ?$ w5 A
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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 a+ T) O% o3 z
d7 W% y1 a! R) @) Z; BEdmonton 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.) I1 A5 }, O) z- F, S6 z% ^
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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.
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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.
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! `$ P: B4 m+ S- U0 E pThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.
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# b/ e% a$ y* }# Q! K# G! }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.
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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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