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Work on the Memorial to the Victims of Communism will begin this summer — only site decontamination for now, but a symbolic first shovel in the ground for a project with a lot of opponents.

But the memorial that emerged Thursday is much smaller than the 14-metre-high work that was condemned as too big. The details:

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• The new proposal covers 37 per cent of the site west of the Supreme Court of Canada, down from 60 per cent. It is likely to shrink a bit more, to about 33 per cent;

• There will be five folded sheets of steel called “Memory Folds,” down from seven; and they will reach a height of eight metres, not 14.3 m.

• The foot bridge (Bridge of Hope) will be five metres high, down from 11. The proposed elevator inside it is gone.

• The whole project will be farther back from Wellington Street, “nestled” behind a natural earth berm that will reduce its impact on the street view, National Capital officials said at their board meeting Thursday. Extra trees will soften a view a bit more.