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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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5 G4 b0 ^3 @5 y( \8 {0 w. KBy 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.
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% ^* \% v+ t( SIt 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.
" C1 o6 E6 b6 z/ Q(CBC)
* i" Q$ n: _5 e* GResidents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.+ e: V$ }9 n2 t/ D: g7 j
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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. ( F0 O* c: u# n. b3 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.( K+ u* P) J: G1 B
1 [/ e8 v0 O# K6 q% MJohn Logan, with the neighbouring Bonnie Doon Community League, was also dismayed by the city council vote.+ w: i! E( S8 K9 U( ~& U, W! X
/ P, o5 R: L; D. xThe developer's vision of the Strathearn project.+ H4 u8 m4 p" c
(Nearctic Group) & Q0 R+ n9 N* r9 {& |9 m0 G
"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.: G5 [' h! \' n$ j! I [2 m3 n+ m* c
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New life to area: developer% A: y1 j2 u& o$ s$ P$ ?' W. 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.9 ], x2 e$ s" h
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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.
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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.4 q: f( I7 Q& J
3 V) N$ s- e% K/ M6 p! m& {" r ]"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.+ Z; E' D+ y8 P+ o: J6 |2 U
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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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`6 @. X, }6 r& m# ~$ Z. c1 p$ Q2 |# EThis is the second major project approved for a mature neighbourhood in Edmonton as many months./ F7 Y0 \1 G/ y
& s0 \7 d6 T( }2 Z P' KIn 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." n5 t8 y7 y4 L1 J2 K, p' h
) ]2 ^- `" m2 O+ |3 v! wIt'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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