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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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6 A" K& O3 {/ }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.; e& l# b3 }# O* ]" P: s
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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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/ B. P; V. M7 I"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. ( G m) G/ E( J! _
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/ ~# N. `! S- Q2 [' p"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.# J4 |; v. p' L1 |* o
1 \/ A5 K# k5 ^ w- oJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.- H) ?4 r, I: c
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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.
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New life to area: developer" Y: |/ ?. O: B( I: d
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.( q4 D8 K3 q0 e3 d0 H p
8 A" P% d7 e# _"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.2 N9 t6 C# l2 h- i' F2 P4 U* Y+ {+ Q
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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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2 ?% P0 B( p4 M7 V$ L+ V"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.. x% R+ P a1 p- ]* u# b. A, r
+ H- z8 ~. W' V% W, ?1 D- aConstruction 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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This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months./ j. H4 F$ N5 l4 F+ @
5 E! d# e6 {. c; PIn 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- p7 T' U, c) ]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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