Kelowna Construction

[Metro-One]

No, I think you are right about that, but it seems that Victoria does have an active proposal that may be their new tallest as well.

[vicdevelopments]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

No, I think you are right about that, but it seems that Victoria does have an active proposal that may be their new tallest as well.

It was going to proposed at 30 stories but has shrunk to 25 stories now. It's been approved at 24 stories. I'm disappointed that they didn't go for 30.

It's amazing how Kelowna is growing too.

[Phil McAvity]

Originally Posted by scryer

Yeah especially considering that it's growing taller than Victoria .

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong..

Kelowna has 3 buildings than are taller than anything in Victoria, hell even Nanaimo has a taller building than Victoria but what we do have in Victoria is something neither Nanaimo nor Kelowna have-density, because we have tons of high-rises and mid-rises.

[excel]

Interesting your Fresh Slices get to sell beer. We don't get that here in Vancouver

[vicdevelopments]

Originally Posted by Phil McAvity

Kelowna has 3 buildings than are taller than anything in Victoria, hell even Nanaimo has a taller building than Victoria but what we do have in Victoria is something neither Nanaimo nor Kelowna has-density, because we have tons of high-rises and mid-rises.

we also have a fairly large downtown too. It has changed a lot over the last 10 years and more changes to come as well.

are there any photos of the downtown center of Kelowna?

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by vicdevelopments

we also have a fairly large downtown too. It has changed a lot over the last 10 years and more changes to come as well.

are there any photos of the downtown center of Kelowna?

There are some on the last page I believe.

The main difference between the cities is when they were built, and how they evolved.

Victoria is the old capital city, more urban and sophisticated than it should be for a city of its size. It also has to be more careful with how it develops, because it has less space and more identity. Kelowna is a much newer city that has been experiencing the type of growth that is rarely seen in cities in BC. It grew in the wrong way for years, but now, while it's still growing at around 2% per year, is finally starting to grow right, and develop its downtown core. For that reason, it's downtown is developing at a much faster rate than comparable sized cities, and even cities much larger, like Victoria. It also has the developable land to do it.

[Phil McAvity]

Originally Posted by excel

Interesting your Fresh Slices get to sell beer. We don't get that here in Vancouver

Huh? Are you sure you're in the right thread?

Originally Posted by Sheener

http://1330stpaul.com/

fugly

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by Phil McAvity

Huh? Are you sure you're in the right thread?

He's referring to the photo Metro-One took. To be honest, I never noticed this myself and I've been there several times.

Originally Posted by Metro-One

I was only in Kelowna for a single afternoon this year, so I only got a few decent pics of the town (sadly no construction updates)

Summer in Kelowna by Ian, on Flickr

[excel]

Never actually spent much time in Kelowna. That street looks very inviting

[vicdevelopments]

I find it interesting how cities grow and expand. Prince Gorge is a small city but is in the middle of the province. I would have thought that it would be a larger city like Edmonton but it's not.

Another reason for Victoria's earlier growth was due to the gold rush. However being the capital city I would have thought that Victoria should have been larger maybe due to being on an island it's growth was stalled somewhat.

I am excited to see Kelowna's current growth happening now.

[excel]

Originally Posted by vicdevelopments

I find it interesting how cities grow and expand. Prince Gorge is a small city but is in the middle of the province. I would have thought that it would be a larger city like Edmonton but it's not.

Edmonton has oil. Prince George does not.

[Phil McAvity]

Originally Posted by excel

Edmonton has oil. Prince George does not.

Apparently there's a lot more money in oil than there is lumber. Who knew?

[centralgreen19]

“Big new development proposed” - Trevor Nichols, Oct. 10

A Vancouver developer wants permission to build a pair of six-storey mixed use buildings on an empty industrial lot in Kelowna’s north end.

https://okanaganedge.net/2017/10/10/big-new-development-proposed/

[csbvan]

Yuck to all that surface level parking, but at least a lot of it is hidden behind the buildings.

[DKaz]

I'm not sure how I feel about this development. It's an industrial area. They probably picked up the industrial zoned land for cheap, cheap enough that they're not going to bother with surface parking, and now they're going through the rezoning process to sneak in a cheap development. I'm not against housing, just against the method. If this goes through, we'll see if BC Tree Fruits to the north and Sun Rype to the east decide to stick around much longer, then we'll have residences creeping towards the proposed freeway corridor.

My other concern is that putting housing there will attract more housing which will provide NIMBY fire against the new Kelowna freeway to be built in 20 years. Lastly, I think the lack of secure residential parking will be a hard sell anyway. Not grounds to reject the project but the units will probably be priced accordingly.

I'm not totally opposed to the project. It'll bring much needed housing that is more right priced for the lower-middle class and it'll bring some commercial services (namely food I can imagine) for the RCMP building across the street as well as area residents.

[240glt]

^ That area is slowly being redeveloped though... my old Volvo repair shop was right in there, they shut it down years ago when the property was sold for redevelopment and given everything else that's going on, it's conceivable to see that industrial land converted over to mixed use commercial/ residential at some point

[DKaz]

That's true, all the industrial businesses are slowly moving inland. I'm just questioning if it's the best Kelowna can get for that piece of property? Part of me thinks it is and part of me thinks Kelowna can get better.

I guess the biggest benefit is that Kelowna will get them to 4 lane that section of Clement which is needed.

[240glt]

^ If it more affordable, it's probably a decent compromise, especially if you can get Kelowna residents living there rather than people from out of town. Yes getting Clement widened will be nice for traffic in that area.

I can't believe how many wineries seem to have set up shop in that area though. I remember Tree Brewing being there but I don't remember any of the wineries. That's a little different than your average industrial area..

[KelownaResident]

http://infotel.ca/newsitem/heavy-industrial-land-under-siege-in-boomtown-kelowna/it46974:

Heavy industrial land under siege in boomtown Kelowna
By John McDonald

October 17, 2017 - 4:34 PM
KELOWNA - New visitors to Kelowna are often surprised to see a large-scale industrial operation — the Tolko lumber mill — sitting right beside the picturesque downtown core.
If anything shatters the image of Kelowna’s postcard waterfront, it’s the full-size log yard, drying kilns and large log booms floating just offshore, and more than a few visitors have asked, “why don’t they just get rid of it?”

Their site is basically just steps away from One Water Street, 1151 Sunset, Ellis Parc, and a host of other towers and developments in the area.

In my opinion this is just a matter of time before this goes too. Tolko cited shortage of fiber (due to the pine beetle and other factors) as one of their principal reasons for their recent Merritt, BC lumber mill shutdown. My understanding is that it was basically their Merritt or their Kelowna mill that was going to be down and Kelowna was the survivor.

This doesn't mean their Kelowna mill isn't under pressure, as there are still a host of other mills (including other Tolko ones) in the region which compete for the same fiber.

[240glt]

^ There is a lot more harvesting in the Kelowna area than there is around Merritt though, I believe. That mill is sort-or right down by the end, at the base of Knox Mtn is it not ?