Council approves high-rise project for Strathearn

水管工

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.

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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0 `1 {0 l4 b- O2 zResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.

"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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( v* K+ Q( T( n& R# i"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.

* s" ]' a6 A1 G) y4 d6 U3 FJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.

1 p# G: s" ~6 Z1 [; }! ZThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
/ L9 V+ s+ A/ _9 C5 q' Z' s(Nearctic Group)
"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.

% S8 u* `/ Q$ jNew life to area: developer
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.

- j7 r" c% P, G4 w"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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8 N& J: y8 u% W' `. ZEdmonton 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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"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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This is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months.
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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.

It's part of a push by the city to slow urban sprawl by encouraging more development in older areas of the city.

逛逛

看看这的房子，晕。

3 ~( F- A9 Z' }4 r8 yhttp://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetail ... ;PropertyID=6638783
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, F1 w7 Q$ i/ Uhttp://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetail ... ;PropertyID=6676728

catty

用不着几年就价格下来啦。