Kelowna Construction

[Chadillaccc]

We definitely need a photo update.

[Phil McAvity]

^No kidding. Landmark Six must be all done by now. Skyline shots with Landmark in them would be cool too.

[giallo]

I'm back in December for a couple of weeks. You'll probably have to wait until then.

[Phil McAvity]

[deedub35]

Taken by me today.

[GlassCity]

I love the way Kelowna's growing, hope to see it become a major city soon!

[RWin]

Originally Posted by Shinook

Kamloops is a much better and nicer city. Kelowna is full of young d-bags living off of their parents wealth.

Originally Posted by KevD

What are you like 12 years old? I've experienced the same amount of d-bags and good people in both towns. Kelowna has lots of uncool people during the Center of Gravity festival that come from Alberta and such but for the most part, lots of normal nice people in Kelowna.

As far as activities, scenery, buildings, water, beaches, etc are concerned, Kelowna wins hands down. All of my Kamloops friends even admit that Kelowna is much nicer.

You're both wrong. Vernon is best. But then I'm originally from there so I'm biased.

I know, its not in league with either Kamloops or Kelowna for size. But I think it has potential. Great downtown. To bad they brought big box to town but I guess if you want to keep people from shopping in the "Big City" 30 miles away you have to.

[Phil McAvity]

Thanks for the pics Deedub.

I don't understand it though, it's been 4 1/2 months since the last pics here and Landmark looks pretty much the same, with the crane still up. WTF?!?!

Originally Posted by GlassCity

I love the way Kelowna's growing, hope to see it become a major city soon!

It already is, at least by Western Canadian standards. Eighth largest city in the west.

[Ogopogo Fan]

A small commercial project which just started construction behind the firehall downtown:

http://www.scottbrown.ca/285%20Lawrence/285%20Lawrence.pdf

[Chadillaccc]

It's cute

[Ogopogo Fan]

The Monaco has been re-proposed, this time with twice as much space between the towers, and the height of the taller tower raised to 30 storeys:

http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/PDFs...0BC%20Ltd.%2C%20526%20Doyle%20Avenue.pdf

[vitc]

Glad they bought or optioned the corner lot - works much better now street wise. I have a feeling this will go through with Interior Health tower coming.

But man the nimby's are good have a stroke with the height increase lol. I can see it now bring on the party

[Ogopogo Fan]

Monaco take two on life support
by Wayne Moore - Story: 84065
Dec 4, 2012 / 6:19 am

Kelowna City Council continues to wrestle with the merits of a large development proposed for the corner of Doyle Avenue and St. Paul Street.

They are asking the developers of the controversial Monaco project to try again.


Photo: Contributed - Artist Conception
Proposed new design for Monaco projectDevelopers of the Monaco project originally envisioned two towers with heights of 22 and 26 storeys.

Council shot down that proposal in the spring, not because of the height, but the sheer mass of the towers and the fact they were only 9.29 metres apart as opposed to the required 30 metres for structures over 22 metres in height.

Premier Pacific Group the developers proposing the project were back before council Monday with a new design with towers reaching 22 and 30 storeys in height.

The smaller 22 story southern tower would house a hotel (128 suites) with the taller 30 story northern tower set aside for 161 condo suites.

Separation between the two towers is 19.6 metres with a footprint area of 822 square metres.

The new Official Community Plan calls for a separation of 36 metres when a building exceeds 26 storeys and a footprint of 697 square metres.

Despite staff's' non support, Premier Pacific Group hoped it had a design council could agree with.

They couldn't - and again, the overall mass or footprint of the north tower and the lack of significant separation between the two towers was the holdup, not the height.

"No we could not (entertain a smaller footprint). We would have to hit our target of about eight units per floor to make that project work," Dueck told council.

"With the square footage of each unit it just would not be possible to build anything that we feel is sellable and reasonable to the public."

Councillor Robert Hobson says he is happy with the density of the proposed project and not concerned with height. It's size and separation Hobson has concerns about.

"I guess my feeling is having gone through the whole process of the Downtown Plan and having agreed with, what I thought was quite a reasonable compromise to accept greater height as long as we had a separation between towers, that was a reasonable place to land," says Hobson.

"If you are going to bring forward the first major project after the plan, you had better not be just a nice project and not just iconic, you have to be the best of the best. I just feel to go to a separation that is 17.9 metres less than we require as the minimum separation and then bulk up one of the towers that also doesn't meet the size is kind of a log in the eye."

Hobson says it would create a precedent for each subsequent applicant to further pick apart the Downtown Plan.

"This is quite a stretch, in my view, from where the plan ended up."

One by one, councillors agreed with assertions by Hobson and staff but also agreed the project is viable and deserves a chance to be re-worked and brought back for further consideration.

"I am looking to defer a motion because he's (developer) heard our comments, he clearly understand the vote and where we would end up today and I don't want to vote anything down because then he would have to wait six months unless there are major changes," Councillor Andre Blanleil stated in presenting the deferral motion.

"If he can go back with staff and see if they can come up with something that is palatable for staff to support it."

Blanleil says he hopes staff and the developer could come up with some kind of compromise between the required 697 square foot floor plan and the hoped for 822 square metres.

"By deferring I think it leaves some options to go back and talk to staff."

From: http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-84065-1-.htm#84065

[Metro-One]

I don't understand Kelowna's tower separation of 30+ meters. Honestly, how is having two towers only 20 meters apart going to destroy their vision of downtown?

[Phil McAvity]

Exactly.

Doesn't anyone think of the poor peeping Toms?

[Ogopogo Fan]

New public pier OK'd by feds, province Monday, 10 December 2012 02:00 Ron Seymour
An artist's rendering shows what the new public pier will look like when it's completed.
Provincial and federal approvals have been granted for construction of a new marina and public pier in downtown Kelowna.

"With these permits being approved, the project can now move forward according to the city's timeline," Steve Thomson, MLA for Kelowna-Mission, said Sunday.

Thomson said the province fast-tracked the approval process. "Normally, this would have taken a lot longer," Thomson said, referring to the years-long delay sometimes associated with the greenlighting of projects that affect the shoreline.

Westcorp Inc., the Edmonton-based firm chosen by the city to build the day-use marina and public pier, has upgraded its plan for the project, Mayor Walter Gray says.

"It's really to their credit that they've decided to put even more of their own money into this," Gray said Sunday.

"They've come up with a really incredible, first-rate plan. It'll be a spectacular addition to the waterfront."

Last spring, the city accepted Westcorp's bid for a new marina and pier, to be built near the Sails sculpture at the base of Bernard Avenue. Plans showed moorage for 68 boats, including a mix of day-use, overnight, and rental slips, a fueling station and six-metre wide public pier.

Through the design process, the company has upgraded the design of the fuel depot, the concession building and the rental facility. "The buildings are far more expensive than first envisioned," said Gail Temple, Westcorp's director of development.

"Since they will be so visible from the downtown, we wanted to make sure their quality and aesthetic was something everyone would be proud of," Temple said. "They are meant to have a lantern effect, which could look really lovely both from the water and from the promenade."

With the provincial and federal approvals now secured, work will start in January with completion in time for the start of the boating season.

Almost all of the $4 million initially budgeted for the project was to be funded by Westcorp, with the city contributing just $200,000.

In exchange for its investment and development of the project, Westcorp will collect revenue from boat moorage and operate the pier and marina for 15 years.

The company has an interest in building and running an attractive marina and pier, Gray noted, because it owns nearby land upon which a hotel will be built.

"Whenever I talk to them, I'm encouraging them to also include a convention centre in their plans," for the old Willow Inn site, Gray said.

From: http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/front-page-news/new-public-pier-okd-by-feds-province-121012.html

[Emtee]

As an addendum to that, from the Westcorp website:

Downtown Boutique Hotel PROJECT

Westcorp's Kelowna downtown redevelopment site (the former Willow Inn site) is located between Water St. and Okanagan Lake, one of the last key waterfront properties remaining in Kelowna's downtown. Located adjacent to both Kerry Park and Stuart Park, the site is very important visually, and is ideally located to integrate with Kelowna's waterfront park plan and boardwalk. With easy access to all downtown amenities and unobstructed lake views from the property, this site is extremely well suited for hotel, commercial and residential uses, and it is Westcorp's intention to pursue a vibrant mixed used development at this location.

Over the last few years, the City of Kelowna has worked through planning and approval processes for a new Downtown Plan. Plans for the old Willow Inn site formalized the expectation of a new hotel at this location (up to 19 storeys), and Westcorp is now currently working on the hotel's preliminary design.

http://www.westcorp.net/downtown-kelowna.php

[Emtee]

From a presentation to council regarding the City's new business development position on a slide labeled 'Downtown Prospectus":

[Chadillaccc]

I just did a projection today... if Kelowna continues growing at this rate, it will be nearly, or over 200 000 people by the next census! Pretty impressive. And I am obviously talking about the metropolis not municipality Maybe by the next census, Monaco and a few other 80 plus meter towers will be gracing the skyline too. Who knows... maybe even a 100 meter. Imagine! That wold be badass!

[Ogopogo Fan]

Originally Posted by Emtee

From a presentation to council regarding the City's new business development position on a slide labeled 'Downtown Prospectus":

I have heard the City Has plans for the old Bargain Shop on Bernard. This appears to confirm it (the place marked as 16).