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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.8 q6 f% x, H" @3 t4 z2 C
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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.& q9 \# U8 f, G# g; J+ k1 P2 b
, A8 a! Q$ e/ ]( g$ f4 aIt 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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Y8 x. A" W! y- d TStrathearn 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.
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7 L E5 o9 n# j k. P! w0 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./ C6 O6 C0 f$ H# }$ W ~; t
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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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- c! l; w6 {) ?# ~% u8 Y; w$ ]! jThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.1 s; m8 V6 M H( H
(Nearctic Group) & U# T8 a+ h( G% m2 ~1 s
"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.8 {% f- K# T* R, N# I6 c
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New life to area: developer `; U( A5 Z' k% d( I
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.3 ?: k6 L& O" o
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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.: E& t7 [# X4 i ?' A" Q9 b
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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.. G9 c* C7 a2 o* L+ b
i1 Y5 Q* F; E7 G# s F6 p* H"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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, h- p$ u& E8 g- H$ x8 ?+ V* hThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.4 f- G5 t& I4 z) l) Q4 e: ]0 R
0 t: G' H8 J6 bIn 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 d) P7 }. J9 Z4 s* }
4 _" d' m$ p _1 B' t4 kIt'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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