There has been incredulity and doubt expressed here upon recent rumours that Ashford wants to go
really big on the Ashford/Downing signature tower (maybe as tall as 50 storeys). This is understandable and not surprising, but, perhaps we should cast our eyes a little to the west to see what is possible.
The city of Kelowna BC is only about 30% larger than Moncton (CMA population of 225,000). Kelowna has decided to actively densify the core in order to preserve the valuable surrounding vineyards and orchards in the Okanagan Valley. The new Moncton Urban Growth Strategy also intends to promote downtown densification over sprawl.
Downtown apartment towers are already springing up in Kelowna, the largest of which is 35 storeys (One Water Street). This sounds similar to the 30 storey Infinity Tower recently approved in Moncton.
There are a couple of other impressively tall developments in Kelowna which are now under construction:
UBC-Okanagan is planning a brand new downtown Kelowna campus largely confined to a single building, which will be
43 storeys tall. The height is partially governed by the fact that the building will contain student housing in addition to campus facilities and classrooms. The Okanagan campus is comprehensive, including a full fledged medical school.
https://ok.ubc.ca/about/ubco-downtown/
Water Street by the Park is a large new multi-building residential property on the lakeshore in downtown Kelowna, the signature tower of which (The Eli) will be
42 storeys tall.
This sounds suspiciously like the rumoured Ashford/Downing project (multiple buildings with a signature tower).
https://www.waterstbythepark.com
Could Moncton be the Kelowna of the east (a medium sized city with an impressively tall skyline)???
Perhaps the rumours surrounding Ashford/Downing aren't quite so outlandish after all.........