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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.+ d/ ?! m& Z( Z" w
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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.) t7 z$ E+ D( S+ ?9 G+ r
! ?0 S! G3 i# c* jIt 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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+ B" a' n5 W- D/ S- _4 B2 bStrathearn resident Allan Tchida has fought the high-rise project for three years.4 f9 g, }8 H9 O1 Z' ]1 E
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Residents have fought the project for more than three years, complaining the development will forever change the single-family community.4 w! q) M/ p$ c) o
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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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"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.& `) P5 ~: _" T6 q/ _
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The developer's vision of the Strathearn project.
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7 F9 }5 m4 z8 u"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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New life to area: developer
$ J0 C) ]( p- X' m9 NThe 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.. e3 ^, C4 G; a3 G0 p C
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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.$ c; B3 X' U' \" l- f
* u$ ~* j, a/ f: q"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.4 q2 a/ L% p4 }2 {
9 }9 [& Q* A3 \: L; \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.2 g# w, ^) E- H2 m% f2 W
8 h+ X; @1 `" m, k$ o5 c: E2 ~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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发表于 2008-2-29 13:48
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