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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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1 q1 X* y7 K/ [& f @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.2 r3 T& X; A2 h. b& G4 i# d
* A5 u( w) b% x% cIt will replace a two-storey complex of low-cost apartments that have been in the south-Edmonton community for 60 years.2 z U' r7 F& B& u( T
' [ u" P, U; V: `( SStrathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.+ W* p9 U3 y+ `+ {( V8 w* |
(CBC)
' m8 B! z2 i5 B; B/ h# P$ rResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.5 E! N- d+ R6 P1 f
" \4 l W& |, w"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. + \1 v9 S" h$ y% K; B; p
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* y4 Y" L/ a$ |: B2 X"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.7 g: I/ i1 }- M
: X4 h: ~' F# b1 ZJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.# t; W* w; x# @, }6 }8 G8 P
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The developer's vision of the Strathearn project.5 \# ]5 Q! I0 F! E% M/ h' @
(Nearctic Group)
8 U1 Y0 L6 M8 ^' t1 r' X( o. I"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./ v, X, D& k3 n8 y, t) t+ a2 x4 ?" b
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New life to area: developer, E3 O% G, U- U% d1 n
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.! p- O3 [7 I. z l3 B9 {# D
$ ?2 t7 Q# ^& v; S"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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1 h' G+ j4 X, D6 }4 _% CEdmonton 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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: c: ] f5 ^6 _"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. @& Y: ?1 A( Y1 W1 gThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.' n4 L6 M3 F/ U7 j
+ `' `, b+ E, \; S% y' q, uIn 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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# G2 u/ ]: w8 n* {( Y6 E( jIt'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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发表于 2008-2-29 13:48
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