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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.5 J8 y5 C+ H2 H
% ]8 s5 k" F' M9 Z0 B) mBy 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.: _. v( q3 _+ R. y
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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.( L6 x5 ]# p/ Y0 Z
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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.7 n7 X# L1 z/ E% e N4 y q
Y8 t4 i7 i( D) C$ o+ k"There's many reasons why we lived there for such a long time," said Allan Tchida, who has lived in Strathearn since 1980. 7 }- s+ _' p y0 @1 ^6 ?" c
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"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.
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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.
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( I) E/ X: |1 r4 IThe 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., t; A7 Y, a' d/ T* t$ {- m
; R% g9 `' z2 H2 _0 G1 k"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 h; V, a. k2 o3 T8 p+ L
/ T% k3 T4 A: ^5 }% w, MEdmonton 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.# x$ j( O, o+ A' j: l
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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./ l, h* z+ b6 {7 T: b% P( J
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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.
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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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