Kelowna Construction

[giallo]

Thanks for the pics, Foyle.

There is so much development potential in North Kelowna.

[Bcasey25raptor]

What are they doing to the dolphins building? Are they resurfacing it? I never heard about this.

[Emtee]

ALR land eyed for big development


MONDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2013 02:00 J.P. SQUIRE

The Bennett family wants to build a multi-million-dollar residential and commercial development on Springfield Road almost directly across from its Orchard Plaza.
The biggest problem: the 24.35 hectares is in the agricultural land reserve.
So McIntosh Properties Ltd. has proposed to the B.C. Agricultural Land Commission that it would:
- Place 21.4 hectares of farmland in Oyama into the ALR;
- Spend $1.75 million an agricultural improvements to existing ALR farmlands throughout the Okanagan;
- Relocate 15,000 cubic metres of topsoil to be removed from the Springfield Road property to an agricultural property in southeast Kelowna at a cost of $335,000.
The Kelowna company proposes to create a 10-hectare "greenfield" development of 500 residences with an additional 200,000 square feet of commercial and office space. The residential component would involve clusters of four-and six-storey rental apartments "in an open, pedestrian-friendly, phased project."
The one-storey commercial area would be modelled after the Village at Park Royal shopping centre in North Vancouver. The offices would be located in one building of six to
10 floors.
The comprehensive report prepared by McIntosh "reflects significant effort and deliberation," according to Todd Cashin, manager of subdivision, agriculture and environment, in a report to go to city council at
1:30 p.m. today. Council support is considered crucial to get serious land commission consideration.
However, councillors will also receive numerous letters of opposition and concern from neighbours at today's meeting.
Heather Deegan, Interior Health's manager of population health services, expressed concern "in the interest of food security and the ability of our citizens to access nutritious and safe food that supports sustainable food systems and community self-reliance."
She suggested council consider: the applicant has not indicated a pressing need for its residential and commercial development; the agricultural capability of the (unused) Springfield Road farmland which abuts productive farmland; community food security is threatened by overall erosion of agricultural land, both locally and across the province; and attempts should be made to protect and preserve any land that has the potential for agricultural production so that there is no net loss to the agricultural capacity of this community, region or province.
The Okanagan contains some of B.C.'s prime agricultural land, she added. "Even the poorest land in this region is of higher quality than agricultural land in other areas of the province."
And once developed, farmland can never be adequately recovered or restored for agricultural purposes, she noted.

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/fr...ent-92313.html

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by Emtee

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/fr...ent-92313.html

I think this is a great idea, that always seemed like a prime spot for some new density.

Also, fantastic news on a second crossing, this is one thing Kelowna desperately needs! Traffic there is ridiculous for such a small city.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Traffic there is ridiculous for such a small city.

Is it really that small? Considering the entire Central Okanagan is approaching 200,000 people, the amount of traffic that has to take Harvey at this point shouldn't be too surprising.

[Mike K.]

Originally Posted by Bcasey25raptor

What are they doing to the dolphins building? Are they resurfacing it? I never heard about this.

Oh geez, don't tell me it's a leaky condo. Sure looks like what we see on the coast in Vancouver and Victoria.

@Foyle, thanks for the photos!

[vitc]

Regarding the Springfield ALR Exclusion Development Proposal here is more info: ( starts on page 82 )

http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/...ept23_2013.pdf

[Bcasey25raptor]

Any Updates on when they will be starting the monaco development? It's good to see my home town is growing up. But much too slow for me. If I'm ever there from vancouver to see my family I'll take photos.

[dataspank]

That is great news about the Monaco. I had not heard the developer had come back to the table with a larger footprint. This entire process made city hall look ridiculous. They wanted density in the downtown core but dismissed the original Monaco idea because the towers were too close together.

[dataspank]

I spent a week in Ktown this summer and what struck me the most is how much of a dumpster fire Harvey Ave is. I am not talking about the never ending retail landscape - although many have a problem with that. I am talking about the insane traffic volume that clogs up the city along this strip. Locals use it. Of course through-traffic on 97 use it. And don't even get me started on the retarded idea to make a bus lane on the cheap with the HOV lane on the OUTSIDE lanes.
This issue is only going to get worse as kelowna nears the 200k mark
My question for those knowledgeable about the area is how serious has the talk been about a Hwy97 bypass of the city (with a new bridge) linking up with the west side?

[Emtee]

Originally Posted by dataspank

I spent a week in Ktown this summer and what struck me the most is how much of a dumpster fire Harvey Ave is. I am not talking about the never ending retail landscape - although many have a problem with that. I am talking about the insane traffic volume that clogs up the city along this strip. Locals use it. Of course through-traffic on 97 use it. And don't even get me started on the retarded idea to make a bus lane on the cheap with the HOV lane on the OUTSIDE lanes.
This issue is only going to get worse as kelowna nears the 200k mark
My question for those knowledgeable about the area is how serious has the talk been about a Hwy97 bypass of the city (with a new bridge) linking up with the west side?

From a few days ago:

Talks begin on second bridge crossing over Okanagan Lake
Wendy McLeod
9/13/2013
Talks have started on the potential development of a second bridge across Okanagan Lake, connecting Kelowna and West Kelowna.

Premier Christy Clark making good on her campaign promise by directing Minister of Transportation Todd Stone to meet with our local mayor's and Chief of Westbank First Nations.

West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater has concerns of where the second crossing could go.

"It's very steep terrain, some of it is very population, a lot of it is private property. What happens when it lands? Does it go through existing neighbourhoods?"

Findlater adds the district will not be forking out only dollars for the new bridge or an alternate route.

"This would have to be a Ministry of Transportation initiative in terms of absorbing the costs of a bypass route that would go with a second crossing."

Meanwhile, Kelowna Mayor Walter Gray can't wait for the project to get started.

"We're vulnerable with a floating bridge. We need a second bridge and 12 to 15 years from now we're really going to need that second crossing."

Gray adds Chief Robert Louie with WFN will also be included in the talks right from the beginning, the opposite of what took place during the WR Bennett Bridge project.

"Right from the beginning it's very important that First Nations be involved in the process at the beginning and not at the end of the process which was the case with the WR Bennett Bridge."

Discussions for a second crossing from Kelowna to West Kelowna are in the very early stages and the project will take years to complete.

http://www.am1150.ca/News/Local/story.aspx?ID=2040814

[Ogopogo Fan]

Been waiting for news on this for a long time:

The man behind Kelowna’s new public pier and marina says he’s excited the facility is finally complete and is looking forward to making it part of a bigger development that he hopes will help transform the downtown area.

Phil Milroy, owner of Westcorp, the Edmonton developer that built the $5.1-million pier for the city, said his plans for a boutique hotel on the site of the former Willow Inn at Mill Street and Queensway are well underway.

He hopes to break ground on that project in the coming months.

“We’re very excited,” said Milroy.

“The Okanagan Valley is a rare and unique piece of geography and I believe the sweet spot is between The Sails (sculpture at the foot of Bernard Avenue) and the entrance to the (new) pier.”

Milroy said he likes what the city is doing to improve Bernard Avenue, as well as the current ongoing plans for the downtown lakeshore, such as a new Kelowna Yacht Club building and expansion of Jim Stuart Park now that the Water Street Seniors Centre is gone.

Westcorp’s proposed hotel, which will include a street level commercial component and an enhanced public space, is expected to also include a multi-storey building and have between 140 and 200 rooms.

Milroy said while it is too early to say exactly how tall the “tower” will be, it is a far cry from the original plan to build three towers in excess of 20 storeys on the land.

That plan, of which Westcorp’s development was part, was known as the CD21, a comprehensive development zone proposed for the entire area around Bernard.

Westcorp provided the seed funding for that zone plan, which called for a massive redevelopment of the area.

But the plan was met with substantial opposition from the public and was ultimately rejected by the previous Kelowna city council.

Westcorp’s original concept also nixed the city’s original plan for Jim Stuart Park, as it was announced just days before the city finalized its first plan for the park.

As a result, the park’s development was delayed.

But with the park now in place, the marina now complete—it is slated to officially open Friday—and a revamped plan for the hotel, Milroy said he is prepared to proceed again.

Describing the new development concept as “vastly” different from the original plan, he said his company has been working closely with the city to make sure what is proposed fits with the Kelowna’s downtown plan.

“We need to be very mindful of what people will think of the (development),” Milroy told the Capital News in an interview Thursday, in part because of the high profile of the location.

“Downtowns are very important areas of any city,” he said.

“We want to do something that will be iconic.”

How exactly the hotel development will look and how it will tie in with the new pier and marina has yet to be revealed.

But Milroy said his company’s desire to build and operate the pier and marina through a contractor is not about making money—it is about improving the area for the hotel development.

Westcorp has contracted out the operation of the marina for the first three years to a group Milroy described as “basically the people at the Hotel Eldorado.”

In return for building, maintaining and operating the pier and marina, Westcorp gets to keep any revenue it makes—mainly through gasoline sales from a new marine gas station and from short-term moorage rentals.

The new hotel is slated to take between 20 and 30 months to build once it gets approval from the city.

http://www.kelownacapnews.com/news/225433082.html

[Calgarian]

I'd say Kelowna is small, anything under 250 000 is pretty small to me.

[Bcasey25raptor]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

I'd say Kelowna is small, anything under 250 000 is pretty small to me.

Any metro under 1 million is small to me.

I consider Calgary to be a medium small metro and vancouver to be medium.

Canada only has 1 large city (metro of 4 million +), thats Toronto.

[Chadillaccc]

Montreal's metro is over 4 million now.

[Bcasey25raptor]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Montreal's metro is over 4 million now.

Last I checked it was just shy of 3.9 million people.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by Bcasey25raptor

Last I checked it was just shy of 3.9 million people.

Last you checked must have been a while ago then. The estimates released last year (estimates are widely considered to be more accurate than census data) put its population at over 3.9 million for 2012 (3 957 000 to be exact)... following that growth trajectory, it should have surpassed 4 million this year or will by the end of Q1 2014.

Source: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tabl...emo05a-eng.htm

[Ogopogo Fan]

Nothing stays the same forever.

Long time Kelowna residents will remember when the Capri Mall was the hub of commercial activity in the city.

Now, mall owners are proposing a complete facelift of the 54-year-old, underused mall.

The facelift, proposed by property owners RG Properties, would include several residential towers.

City Urban Planning Manager, Ryan Smith, says the idea has been in the discussion stages for nearly 10 years.

He says an official development application for rezoning and an Official Community Plan amendment for the site was filed with the city a little more than a year ago.

"We are working with the owner of the mall site on a potential mixed use, redevelopment plan," says Smith.

"It's a long term plan for the mall site. We are looking at changing the mall you see today into a more pedestrian environment with a mix of housing types while retaining the existing commercial development that's there today."

He says the plan presented to the city would include as many as eight to 10 buildings of varying heights.

"Right now, we do know the zoning says between, I think, four and 10 storeys on the site. That will develop as we move more into the comprehensive planning process and we get some neighbourhood feedback and the property owner and their design team considers that."

Smith says the developers are in the process of beginning the public consultation process.

With the next week or so, a mail-out will be going out to neighbours for a public meeting in mid-November.

The application as it currently sits calls for parking below grade allowing for current parking lot space to be utilized as part of the development itself.

Smith stresses the proposal before the city does not call for the elimination of the commercial component of the mall.

"The mall will stay in some form," says Smith.

"They are not going to replace the mall or eliminate the commercial functions on the site - just replace them in phases with more modern buildings. The hotel of course will stay as is on the site."

As part of the application, Smith says one of the primary amenities is a central park which has an ice rink type feature.

"The property owner does manage several ice rinks in the province (including Prospera Place).

Our downtown ice rink is a very popular with residents of Kelowna and I think the developer sees that as a positive for the neighbourhood."

The application likely will go through several tweaks and changes before it finds its way to City Council - possibly a year or more from now.

While council has yet to speak on the application, Smith says he believes the location is ideal for a development such as this.

He says he's excited about the potential for redevelopment on the Capri site.

"When you are considering a redevelopment, I think the city sees this site as a key development site along the Highway 97 corridor," says Smith.

"It is in an urban centre that our Official Community Plan recognizes as a future mixed use development site. I think the devil will be in the details - working through the details of the building height and the density and how the servicing works for the development itself."

Smith says if and when the development moves through the system to final approval, it would likely be done in phases over a 15 to 25 year period.

All from: http://www.castanet.net/edition/news...-1-.htm#101574

[Bcasey25raptor]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Last you checked must have been a while ago then. The estimates released last year (estimates are widely considered to be more accurate than census data) put its population at over 3.9 million for 2012 (3 957 000 to be exact)... following that growth trajectory, it should have surpassed 4 million this year or will by the end of Q1 2014.

Source: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tabl...emo05a-eng.htm

Very interesting, thanks for the link.

I was going by the 2011 census statistics released last year.

[Calgarian]

By International standards, all Canadian cities are small (10 000 000 is a good cutoff).

Still, as I said, traffic in Kelowna is far worse than it should be for a city it's size, so adding a second crossing is a must!