Kelowna Construction

[SOSS]

Glad to see some improvements to this route. It's a very scenic alternative for traveling from West Kelowna to Vernon.

Those looking to enjoy the scenic drive along Westside Road could face heavy delays throughout the summer.

The long and winding road along the west bank of Okanagan Lake will be closed twice daily from Monday to Friday.

The closures are due to rock blasting, as part of safety improvements on the 1.3-kilometre stretch from Four Mile Creek to Waterfront Farm.

The road will be closed from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.

The construction began in January 2016 and is expected to continue until the summer of 2017.

The construction will widen the existing road and create a paved shoulder, while adding falling rock protection and concrete barriers along steep sections.

The project is expected to cost $10.1 million.

[uzi]

yesterday I saw them poring some concrete on sopa square tower.

[Emtee]

Proposed new Castanet building on Lawrence between Ellis and Pandosy:

[csbvan]

^^ Is this filling up the empty lot?

[giallo]

It must be an existing building. I'm trying to picture what's there right now, but I'm coming up blank.

[Emtee]

Originally Posted by csbvan

^^ Is this filling up the empty lot?

It's an old building with a hairdresser/barber shop in it (between the City-owned parking lot and the Blue Gator:

https://goo.gl/maps/e7rDJGVAW9q

[DKaz]

It's hard to tell whether they're going to complete renovate the existing building including a new facade plus build the extension to the south, or tear it down altogether.

On another note, downtown Kelowna has become a bit of a nightmare the last month...

[VantageHD]

Ya agreed. I stayed downtown a couple of nights ago. It was like night of the living dead with all the homeless and crack heads walking around.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by VantageHD

Ya agreed. I stayed downtown a couple of nights ago. It was like night of the living dead with all the homeless and crack heads walking around.

The scourge of downtown Vancouver's East Hastings knows no boundaries.

[DKaz]

Except they mug people in Kelowna.

[SOSS]

Time to go the route that Portugal did in 2001 and decriminalize all personal possession of all drugs and shift resources to help people in need.

[Emtee]

Monaco site sold

The sale of the former Monaco twin-highrise site downtown raises more questions than it answers.
The prime 1.04-acre plot at the corner of Doyle Avenue and St. Paul Street just sold to a B.C. numbered company, 1074374, for $6.58 million, slightly above the $6.54 million asking price.
We don’t know anything about this company and their plans for the property.
However, the multi-million price paid indicates the company will want to do something significant on the site, be it a highrise or two highrises, likely a mix of retail, office and condominiums. That’s what the Dueck family from Vancouver’s Premier Pacific Group had in mind for the site until its Monaco proposal fell into foreclosure.
The court-ordered sale of the property generated three bids, one from the Duecks, one from another group that was $5 million and the successful submission from the numbered company. The property was listed through McLaughlin Commercial Group, a division of ReMax locally.
However, the purchase offer was brought in by another realtor and lawyer, so Dris McLaughlin doesn’t know anything about the numbered company or its plans.

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/bu...81c0b5d18.html

[Emtee]

Highrise resurrection in Kelowna taking longer than expected

KELOWNA - The owners of the former Lucaya highrise site are finding it more difficult to bring the project back to life than expected.

“They are disappointed it’s taking a whole lot longer than they hoped,” community planning manager Ryan Smith says.

Jingon Development Corporation purchased the Lucaya site last year with hopes of restarting construction on the rusting foundation on Sunset Drive and renaming it Grace.

Smith says Jingon had trouble finding a local contractor who could finish constructing the highrise and was considering giving up a plan to increase the number of units and thus avoid having to repeat the entire development application process.

“If the project were to move ahead according to the original plan, that would make it a whole lot easier,” he says.

Smith says the company’s engineers had already examined the foundation, which has sat exposed to the elements since the original project stalled in 2008.

“It’s still viable,” he says.

Smith is guarded in his estimation of the long-stalled highrise being resurrected.

“We like to be optimistic. They say will move ahead and we hope they do, but we’ve heard that a number of times before."

http://infotel.ca/newsitem/highrise-...pected/it30781

[csbvan]

I'm in Vernon/Kelowna visiting my parents right now and was surprised by the downtown construction in Kelowna. Coming over the bridge I believe I saw 4 or 5 cranes. What is up with the overpasses/underpass to nowhere coming in on the Westside though? What a waste of money.

[millerman]

MOTI is gradually building interchanges from the west side of the Bennett bridge west into Lakeview and Westbank. Victoria had a similar traffic snarl point before Hwy 1 was upgraded through to Colwood, what we used to call the Colwood crawl. Similar now occurs in Kelowna during rush hour. To alleviate traffic buildup, new interchanges are being built sequentially west to allow supposedly better traffic flow. A significant number of vehicles leave the highway at the Westside Road, Boucherie and Westlake/Hudson intersection/interchanges. New interchanges are coming to Boucherie and Westlake/Hudson, as funding announcements were released back in January 2016. They are hoping construction of these two new interchanges (replacing at grade intersections) will reduce some of the traffic congestion that currently occurs (and accidents).

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by csbvan

I'm in Vernon/Kelowna visiting my parents right now and was surprised by the downtown construction in Kelowna. Coming over the bridge I believe I saw 4 or 5 cranes. What is up with the overpasses/underpass to nowhere coming in on the Westside though? What a waste of money.

Hm, another out of towner with an opinion on what's needed and not needed in the region. Try driving through during rush hour. West Kelowna is a city of 30,000 people and you also have people commuting in from Peachland, Summerland, and maybe even Penticton. Westside Road also has a number of neighbourhoods along that road and it gets very busy in the summer.

Campbell Road may or may not have been needed as it only services about 200 homes but the P3 bridge builder/operator gets annual bonuses/penalties based on traffic delays, weather related delays and accidents, so they probably decided they would profit in the long run with an interchange there.

If only they can decide to move the multiuse path onto a steel deck on the side of the bridge and build that 3rd eastbound lane...

PS. Drive up Westside Road when you come back from Vernon, it's a beautiful drive. Just mind the daytime construction closures, 2 hours in the AM and 2 hours in the PM Monday to Friday.

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by DKaz

Hm, another out of towner with an opinion on what's needed and not needed in the region. Try driving through during rush hour. West Kelowna is a city of 30,000 people and you also have people commuting in from Peachland, Summerland, and maybe even Penticton. Westside Road also has a number of neighbourhoods along that road and it gets very busy in the summer.

Campbell Road may or may not have been needed as it only services about 200 homes but the P3 bridge builder/operator gets annual bonuses/penalties based on traffic delays, weather related delays and accidents, so they probably decided they would profit in the long run with an interchange there.

If only they can decide to move the multiuse path onto a steel deck on the side of the bridge and build that 3rd eastbound lane...

PS. Drive up Westside Road when you come back from Vernon, it's a beautiful drive. Just mind the daytime construction closures, 2 hours in the AM and 2 hours in the PM Monday to Friday.

I grew up in the Okanagan, lived in Kelowna for years, and used to commute the bridge every day. I'm not an out of towner, I'm someone who returns yearly.

The city has fundamental, structural problems involving the highway on both sides of the lake. Obviously this is something that has been known for years, decades even, but it still doesn't change my opinion that the interchanges, where they are, should not have been the immediate priority. It's like the province has given up and tinkers around the edges of what is a historic mess.

Also I agree about Westside Road, I love that drive. I had a friend with a cabin in Fintry and used to approach it from both Kelowna and Vernon at different points in my life. It is amazing how far from the rest of the Okanagan you feel on that side of the lake.

[deedub35]

All those interchanges and overpasses immediately west of the bridge were part of a deal between the BC govt and the Westbank First Nations. Basically the band gave some land so they could build the new bridge and in return the govt builds the interchanges and overpasses so the band has better access to the highway and their lands.

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by deedub35

All those interchanges and overpasses immediately west of the bridge were part of a deal between the BC govt and the Westbank First Nations. Basically the band gave some land so they could build the new bridge and in return the govt builds the interchanges and overpasses so the band has better access to the highway and their lands.

That makes sense. Especially considering the (now defunct) hospital plan. It seems like an expensive deal for the province to have made.

[SOSS]

This is from the Westbank First Nation's website. Basically the province needed land for the highway, WFN gave up land for guaranteed access + being at the bidding table for the work on the interchanges. Good for the band to be so progressive.

Road Building

As traffic volumes increased along the Okanagan transportation corridor, the Province recognized the need to improve safety and in 1983, entered into a contractual agreement with WFN. WFN agreed to give up the transportation corridor through their Reserve, if the Province ensured that WFN wouldn’t be ‘land-locked’ and that they would have access to their reserves, their graveyard, Westside Rd and Lakeridge, an existing 1970’s development. This road networking would not only provide access to WFN lands, it would also provide alternative travel routes in the area.

In agreeing to give up lands, WFN secured that their access points would be accommodated and in return would be compensated with equal size or value to replace those lands. In the past few years, WFN has had to give up additional lands to help accommodate new designs for infrastructure on access points going through the WFN reserve, so the province has had to develop a new contractual agreement as a result.

WFN approached the Ministry of Transportation and was successful in negotiating a contract to manage the $17 million Campbell Rd interchange. WFN has the distinction of being the first First Nation to deliver the construction of a large transportation interchange development in the province. As part of the agreement, WFN negotiated employment for their membership, based on suitability.

Building on their experience and success of the Campbell Rd project, WFN successfully bid on the delivery of the $41 million Westside Rd Interchange project and the $15 million Sneena Rd underpass.