Anglican diocese scrapping affordable-housing project

CTV News has learned the Holy Trinity Riverbend Anglican Church, on 156 St. near South Terwillegar Blvd. has leased some of it's land to a developer, who wants to build a 60-unit affordable housing complex.

After it sparked controversy and opposition from a number of area residents, the Anglican diocese is scrapping plans to build a subsidized housing facility in a south west Edmonton neighbourhood.

The Anglican arch-diocese said it’s not going through with plans to build the 60-unit subsidized housing facility for those who have been homeless.

The decision came after news of the project sparked rising tensions in the neighbourhood.

“We don’t think the project can be successful in this particular place,” Anglican Bishop Jane Alexander said.

The housing complex was slated to be built on land leased by Holy Trinity Riverbend Anglican Church, but the plan received strong opposition from residents in Terwillegar Towne.

A number of residents said they feared possible safety issues, and lower property values, while others were concerned by the amount of public consultation done for the project.

“They never really did a lot of consultation with the community involved, and I don’t think that’s fair,” resident Bert Jurisprudencia said.

“There’s got to be negotiation to move down the scale to something the community feels would be a better fit, and will provide an opportunity for those to be successful,” Ward 9 Councillor Bryan Anderson said.

In a statement sent out Tuesday, the developer responded to the news:

“We will continue to confront poverty with the belief that no Edmontonian needs to experience homelessness.”

The Terwillegar Towne Homeowner’s Association also released a statement in response.

“Its members care about the issues of poverty and homelessness in Edmonton, and are willing to work together to make a valuable contribution to potential alternative projects in the near or distant future,” The statement read.

Edmonton’s Anglican Bishop said although the project has been put on hold, they have plans to create another project to help the homeless in the future on the same plot of land.

With files from Ashley Molnar