Kelowna Construction

[Ogopogo Fan]

Originally Posted by Design-mind

Is there any sign of construction on SOPA Square development in the South Pandosy district now that Aqualini Devlopment has taken over?

They've put a new crane up and there's some activity in the commercial spaces.

[Ogopogo Fan]

A residential building of up to 12 storeys could one day be built on the current site of the Kelowna RCMP detachment.
And a new “iconic” performing arts centre is envisioned for the near-waterfront property now occupied by the 55-year-old Kelowna Community Theatre.
JM Media Whistler Cornucopia 298551 300 x 250 rail top 3
A major civic plaza is also touted for the area between the courthouse and the library parkade, along with an extension of the so-called art walk from the Rotary Centre through to Doyle Avenue, as a way of encouraging more pedestrian activity throughout the cultural district.
These are among the key suggestions in a downtown plan, now being developed by staff through public consultation, that will be presented to city council today.
Beyond a 20-year horizon, the plan also projects three highrise buildings eventually being constructed on large parking lots around Prospera Place.
The report also raises the possibility of the existing Okanagan Heritage Museum, which dates back to the 1960s, being knocked down and replaced elsewhere to make way for affordable housing.
But no specific future use is identified in the plan for nearly 70-year-old Memorial Arena, which is said to have less than 20 years of operational life left in it.
The so-called civic block plan looks at the future of city-owned lands in the area bounded roughly by Queensway, Water Street, Clement Avenue and Ellis Street. A key driver in the formation of the plan is the fact that the Kelowna RCMP will be moving from its current building on Doyle Avenue to a new location on Clement Avenue in two years.
Dozens of people have so far participated in the plan’s preparation, city staff say, through workshops and feedback provided through websites. Based on direction expected to be given today, another public house on the plan will be held in early December.
There are no specific project timelines or budget estimates provided in the plan. It’s essentially a long-range document, intended to provide the framework inside of which various proposals for actual developments are considered and discussed.
The fate of the existing RCMP site will provide the most pressing subject for council and public consideration. Staff suggest the site be offered to developers in the form of a long-term land lease for construction of a residential building of between six and 12 storeys.
Getting more people to live downtown has been a long-held goal of the city as a way of providing more vibrancy and economic activity to the central core.
The community theatre, at the corner of Doyle and Water, should eventually be redeveloped into a new performing arts centre with an impressive architectural design to match its prominent location, the report says.
An earlier draft of the plan contemplated that site also being opened for highrise construction, but the version going to council today no longer includes that option.
“Due to the low-rise character of the area and the challenges of introducing building height in close proximity to the waterfront, a performing arts centre without the inclusion of a tower is proposed to support a future iconic building for the cultural district,” the report says.

From: http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/ne...5f2663715.html

[Design-mind]

Originally Posted by Ogopogo Fan

They've put a new crane up and there's some activity in the commercial spaces.

Good to hear that they are moving ahead on this project. The design doesn't thrill me, but I do love the location.

[SOSS]

Anyone know when we can expect the next update for the corridor study from Peachland to Kelowna including the location for the second crossing?

[Emtee]

Originally Posted by SOSS

Anyone know when we can expect the next update for the corridor study from Peachland to Kelowna including the location for the second crossing?

I saw this article earlier this month which briefly updates the planning process:

http://www.castanet.net/news/West-Ke...uplet-corridor

[DKaz]

They should just build a steel multiuse path off the side of the bridge and shoehorn a third eastbound lane in. Traffic can be pretty terrible at times. The other bottleneck appears to be Horizon Dr/Boucherie Rd intersection. I do tend to agree that a second crossing is just not needed yet. I do worry about the day where they have to close the bridge for whatever reason and I have to head up to Vernon and back down to get to work.

[csbvan]

Kelowna doesn't need a second crossing yet, what they needed was a more appropriate location for the first crossing.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by csbvan

Kelowna doesn't need a second crossing yet, what they needed was a more appropriate location for the first crossing.

Kelowna is a metro area of nearly 200 000 now.

A second crossing is needed.

Having two medium sized crossings is far superior to supersizing a single crossing.

[DKaz]

A second crossing is probably 20+ years away anyway to coincide with the upgrade of the Clement Ave bypass to freeway standards. With the old railway ripped up, there's been some mumbling about extending Clement Ave to Hwy 33 soon but no firm timeline yet.

[SOSS]

Originally Posted by DKaz

A second crossing is probably 20+ years away anyway to coincide with the upgrade of the Clement Ave bypass to freeway standards. With the old railway ripped up, there's been some mumbling about extending Clement Ave to Hwy 33 soon but no firm timeline yet.

Yeah, I like how they've rebranded that to the "Highway 33 extension". I wonder when that route is eventually connected to a second crossing if it will continue the route name.

If the final Peachland - West Kelowna bypass occurs - is connected to the second crossing - and travels the COMC to UBCO I would imagine it would be called Highway 97 and the current Highway 97 would become 97E or something.

[DKaz]

Wow, noticed this driving home last week.







Another one is going on at the Mariott tomorrow (December 1). Both open houses are at 4:30pm to 8pm.

http://engage.gov.bc.ca/okanagansecondcrossing/
http://engage.gov.bc.ca/okanaganseco...ng/openhouses/

[Procrastinational]

A second crossing will be needed in a decade or two, but a bypass is sorely needed now. Kelowna has the worst traffic for its size of any city I've been to. The problem is the city is almost completely linear, and both through and local traffic take 97 through town.

Traffic in Kelowna now reminds me of traffic through Nanaimo before it got a bypass.

[SOSS]

Originally Posted by Procrastinational

A second crossing will be needed in a decade or two, but a bypass is sorely needed now. Kelowna has the worst traffic for its size of any city I've been to. The problem is the city is almost completely linear, and both through and local traffic take 97 through town.

Traffic in Kelowna now reminds me of traffic through Nanaimo before it got a bypass.

The city has been slowly chipping away at it- but it is definitely a long-term plan with little funding. The Central Okanagan Multi-Modal Corridor is the planed bypass. Eventual build out as currently envisioned would have free flow freeway traffic from Clement to UBC-O with room for (I think) 6 lanes of traffic, separated bike lane, and even LRT (extreme long-term) along existing and unused rail.

Link

Map

[bigcitydude]

so approximately where would this new bypass road go? i can't even imagine. i just don't want the lake visually ruined by an ugly bridge at a bad location at my 2nd favorite Canadian city.

[Stingray2004]

Originally Posted by bigcitydude

so approximately where would this new bypass road go? i can't even imagine. i just don't want the lake visually ruined by an ugly bridge at a bad location at my 2nd favorite Canadian city.

In the north-end of the city and a corridor already exists for same (basically along Clement Ave.). The landing for the new bridge on the Kelowna side would be either at the Tolko Forest Products site or at the base of Knox Mountain.

Again, still at least 20 years out IMHO.

[Emtee]

http://thegracekelowna.com

New website for the Grace tower (Lucaya).

[SOSS]

Originally Posted by Stingray2004

In the north-end of the city and a corridor already exists for same (basically along Clement Ave.). The landing for the new bridge on the Kelowna side would be either at the Tolko Forest Products site or at the base of Knox Mountain.

Again, still at least 20 years out IMHO.

Yeah, I'd image the preferred route would be one of those two. I think the least disruptive and my preferred option would be to align along the bottom of Knox Mountain (redirecting upgraded Clement Avenue along Trench Place roads to Broadway Avenue) with the Kelowna side 2nd bridge crossing being at or near Broadway Avenue. This would involve relatively minor property acquisitions and a massive retaining wall to support the sandy glacial till along be bottom of Knox Mountain. I would think one intersection (future interchange) at this route and Richter Street would serve this route. Assuming a bit of a causeway leading up to the bridge would allow for Ellis Street to run under the bridge causeway and connect to both Knox Mountain Drive and Poplar Point Drive. With that route in mind the full build out would have the interchanges at Richter, Gordon, Cliffton, Spall, Dilworth flyover, Hwy 33, McCurdy, Sexsmith, UBO-O/Hwy 97.

The other alternative involves more property acquisition and IMO would divide the community significantly more. Although a bridge starting from the western most point of Tolko lands would be shorter.

2nd bridge plus road connection to Clement is 20+ years out unless funding models for such projects change (i.e. 45% federal, 45% provincial, 10% local - which is proposed and would reflect more how tax revenue is created - but unlikely).

Full build out with interchanges instead of intersections is a lifetime away.

[bigcitydude]

Originally Posted by Stingray2004

In the north-end of the city and a corridor already exists for same (basically along Clement Ave.). The landing for the new bridge on the Kelowna side would be either at the Tolko Forest Products site or at the base of Knox Mountain.

Again, still at least 20 years out IMHO.

ah thanx for this! just on the north edge of the city seems like a good place for it?

[bigcitydude]

Originally Posted by SOSS

Yeah, I'd image the preferred route would be one of those two. I think the least disruptive and my preferred option would be to align along the bottom of Knox Mountain (redirecting upgraded Clement Avenue along Trench Place roads to Broadway Avenue) with the Kelowna side 2nd bridge crossing being at or near Broadway Avenue. This would involve relatively minor property acquisitions and a massive retaining wall to support the sandy glacial till along be bottom of Knox Mountain. I would think one intersection (future interchange) at this route and Richter Street would serve this route. Assuming a bit of a causeway leading up to the bridge would allow for Ellis Street to run under the bridge causeway and connect to both Knox Mountain Drive and Poplar Point Drive. With that route in mind the full build out would have the interchanges at Richter, Gordon, Cliffton, Spall, Dilworth flyover, Hwy 33, McCurdy, Sexsmith, UBO-O/Hwy 97.

The other alternative involves more property acquisition and IMO would divide the community significantly more. Although a bridge starting from the western most point of Tolko lands would be shorter.

2nd bridge plus road connection to Clement is 20+ years out unless funding models for such projects change (i.e. 45% federal, 45% provincial, 10% local - which is proposed and would reflect more how tax revenue is created - but unlikely).

Full build out with interchanges instead of intersections is a lifetime away.

has there been any maps of this route released by any chance?

[Emtee]

Originally Posted by bigcitydude

has there been any maps of this route released by any chance?

http://apps.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs...s-Ultimate.pdf