Kelowna Construction

[Phil McAvity]

Originally Posted by RWin

Well, it's not the best image but that's definitely it.

By, "Huh?" I mean't I have absolutely no idea what the picture is of, or what "40 Foot Fred" is, so let me put it another way, what the fuck are you talking about?

[SOSS]

Originally Posted by Phil McAvity

By, "Huh?" I mean't I have absolutely no idea what the picture is of, or what "40 Foot Fred" is, so let me put it another way, what the fuck are you talking about?

This sign used to welcome visitors to Flinstone's Bedrock City which was next to Wild Waters Waterslides where The Grand Theatres now stand in Kelowna.

[Phil McAvity]

Originally Posted by SOSS

This sign used to welcome visitors to Flinstone's Bedrock City which was next to Wild Waters Waterslides where The Grand Theatres now stand in Kelowna.

Thank you

[Airboy]

Fred is dead.

[SOSS]

you found fred!

[RWin]

Originally Posted by SOSS

you found fred!

Well, as much as I'd like to take credit for that...


http://infotel.ca/newsitem/forty-foo...n-farm/it27459

[Bcasey25raptor]

Originally Posted by RWin

Well, as much as I'd like to take credit for that...


http://infotel.ca/newsitem/forty-foo...n-farm/it27459

OMG, I remember going here in the 90s as a kid.

[rapid_business]

Design is fairly standard across their brand. Many design similarities to their Edmonton establishment: street view here.

Either way, you are correct, it will be good for Kelowna.

[Metro-One]

The Okanagan need a new major water park. Seriously can't believe that there is only one tiny waterslide park left in the entire valley (Vernon).

[Emtee]

Downtown highrise proposal revived


Construction is expected to start within a few months on a 21-storey highrise in downtown Kelowna.

The Grace tower on Sunset Drive will have 155 suites, with prices likely to begin at about $230,000 for one-bedroom suites on lower floors. Two-bedroom units, many of which will have views of Okanagan Lake, will start at $325,000.

“We plan on opening a sales office in Prospera Place in April, with construction to start soon after that,” Don Warkentin of Kelowna-based Fortune Marketing said Sunday.

“I think it’s going to be mostly locals interesting in buying a suite in the tower,” said Warkentin, whose company is promoting the building on behalf of Jingon, the Richmond company that owns the development site.

“You’ve got 800-900 people who’ll soon be working at the new Interior Health building in downtown Kelowna, and another 300 or so at the Innovation Centre, and I think a lot of them are going to be very interested in walking to work,” Warkentin said.

Once construction begins, it should take about 22-24 months to complete the project, Warkentin said.

While Jingon is in Richmond, its ownership is in China. The company bought the Sunset Drive development site out of receivership for $3.8 million in 2012.

Original plans for the property, then owned by a Calgary firm, were for 92 luxury suites in a 21-storey tower marketed under the name Lucaya. However, after the underground parking and foundation were built, the project fell into receivership in 2008 when the recession started.

Construction firm Ledcor has been hired by Jingon, and Kelowna-based Meiklejohn Architects is reconfiguring the original building drawings into the new design.

“Basically, the building will have smaller units at a lower price than was the plan with Lucaya,” Warkentin said. “I think this will be a great project to help with the ongoing revitalization of downtown Kelowna as an attractive place to work and live.”

No rezonings or other approvals from city council are necessary, because the relevant permissions were already issued for the Lucaya project.

Highrise projects are sometimes announced but then remain in abeyance or are withdrawn by the applicant later on.

For example, Vancouver-based Aquilini Group had plans in 2009 for a 26-storey tower on Bernard Avenue, and twin towers of 22 and 30 storeys, known as the Monaco, were to have been built at the corner of Doyle Avenue and St. Paul Street.

Argus Properties had plans for a 26-storey hotel at the corner of Manhattan Drive and Sunset Drive, but that project foundered in 2014, in part as a result of a dispute with the city over parking.

Warkentin said he is confident market response to The Grace tower will be strong, and that Jingon will go ahead with the planned highrise.

“Kelowna is different than it was in 2008,” Warkentin said. “It’s a growing city, with a lot of young professionals, and the well-priced suites in this project should be very attractive to them.”

http://m.kelownadailycourier.ca/busi....html?mode=jqm

[DKaz]

More Interchanges Coming to Hwy 97 in West Kelowna at Boucherie and Westlake/Hudson

http://www.castanet.net/news/West-Ke...changes-coming

This news is welcome and unexpected. Public consultations are happening March 2nd 4-8pm at Super 8 Motel and March 3rd 4-8pm at Sensisyusten Multi Purpose Facility. I will attend one of them and take photos of the concepts.

City of West Kelowna mayor Doug Findlater is not happy with this plan saying he does not want to turn West Kelowna to a city of interchanges. But I can assure everyone that most of the residents of West Kelowna were calling for these changes. The highway is often backed up at both intersections AM and PM, and accidents frequently occur at Westlake/Hudson.

[Metro-One]

I really really hope that tower gets built. Will be so great to finaly comlete that tower and remove the foundation eyesore that has sat there for 8 years...

I also really hope the hotel gets off the group as well. Would ba amazing to have 2 or 3 towers u/c at the same time in Kelowna.

Also, good news on the interchanges. I really hope the mayor is aware this has been planned for a very long time (one can even clearly see in the Google Earth image above that the land zoning around those intersections have been planned with future interchanges in mind).

Also, we are talking about West Kelowna here, maybe the worst planned community in the Okanagan. There really should be a freeflow link connecting Kelowna propoer to the Connector. This will get it that much closer. South of these interchanges though a bypass will have to be constructed around downtown West Kelowna.

[SOSS]

Originally Posted by DKaz

More Interchanges Coming to Hwy 97 in West Kelowna at Boucherie and Westlake/Hudson

They're doing an overall study of the area from Peachland through to the second crossing. I'm with the mayor on this one. Lets wait and see what the study says in the next year before building more interchanges. Damn this government is so road centric and its driving me nuts. Basically they're trying to buy votes for the next election.

[Metro-One]

If this government was as road centric as you say, then long ago we would have had a solid complete freeflow bypass already U/C from south of Peachland to a new second crossing.

Honestly, given how many other bypasses (Vernon, Salmon Arm, east Kamloops, etc...) have been toyed with and have never made it past an idea on paper, I really doubt we will see any Peachland by pass (and West Kelowna by pass to a second crossing) for at least 30 years.

Therefore, may as well upgrade these few intersections with zoning and land already in place for interchange upgrades to help traffic flow between West Kelowna and Kelowna.

Honestly I think an entire freeflow highway running along the valley's west ridge should be built from south of Peachland, connecting to the existing Okanagan corridor for the two interchanges already in place (Connector and the one near the mill) and then again running along the west ridge (by passing West Kelowna) to a seond crossing and further running along the west side of Kelowna (with interchanges) until it connect with the existing Okanagan Corridor near the airport.

But that is a huge project, and our government seems to hate huge road projects outside of the lower mainland, so all we can hope to see is a project like this where the odd interchange is added here or there to an existing road.

[SOSS]

They are road centric. Spending money where the most votes are.
-Port Mann Hwy 1 Upgrades $3.3 billion
-Pitt River Bridge $200 million
-SFPR $1.26 billion
-GMT Replacement Project projected $3.5 billion
-Central Okanagan Planning Study $2 million

[Metro-One]

You missed the "outside of the lower mainland" comment.

All of those except the 2 million dollar study are in the Lower Mainland.

Many regions outside of the Lower Mainland in BC do need major road projects / upgrades, but that is where we never see them. (just small single interchange of a few KM projects here and there).

Hence the mayor in West Kelowna waiting for the new bypass / second crossing will be waiting to probably until after he dies.

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by SOSS

They're doing an overall study of the area from Peachland through to the second crossing. I'm with the mayor on this one. Lets wait and see what the study says in the next year before building more interchanges. Damn this government is so road centric and its driving me nuts. Basically they're trying to buy votes for the next election.

So you're ok with being stuck in traffic every single day from West Kelowna to Kelowna? Especially with all the accidents at the two intersections? Good for you.

The second crossing is 20 years away and the West Kelowna and Kelowna bypass will not be built before that other than the Hwy 33 extension in the next 5 years. They'll build Peachland bypass first because that's critical, there's no room to four lane the road through Peachland and it's a safety hazard in its current form.

[SOSS]

Originally Posted by DKaz

So you're ok with being stuck in traffic every single day from West Kelowna to Kelowna? Especially with all the accidents at the two intersections? Good for you.

The second crossing is 20 years away and the West Kelowna and Kelowna bypass will not be built before that other than the Hwy 33 extension in the next 5 years. They'll build Peachland bypass first because that's critical, there's no room to four lane the road through Peachland and it's a safety hazard in its current form.

I'm saying give it a year. Let the study come out and go from there. You are also assuming the Peachland bypass is a foregone conclusion which it isn't. Name one location that can't be expropriated to expand the highway to 4 lanes?

[SOSS]

A $36-million contract has been awarded to Emil Anderson Construction Inc. for the second phase of six-laning on Highway 97 through Kelowna, increasing capacity and making travel safer along this busy corridor.

“Kelowna and the surrounding communities continue to grow in population, which is why it’s vital to invest in transportation infrastructure to meet increasing demand,” said Premier Christy Clark, MLA for Westside-Kelowna. “With this announcement, the project is taking a major step toward completion.”

“Our design team has been working hard for the past two-and-a-half years to produce a design that meets the needs of the community,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone. “We appreciate all the feedback that was received through our public consultation process, and we thank the community for their patience while this important work was being done.”

The expansion and upgrade of over four kilometres of Highway 97 from Highway 33 to Edwards Road will improve safety and efficiency for all users of the highway and better connect Kelowna’s downtown core with surrounding areas. Initial construction on this $60-million project began last year with the realignment of Finns Road, which was completed in December 2015.

“The modifications along with other adjustments to the design were necessary to ensure these improvements best meet the needs of the community,” said Kelowna-Mission MLA Steve Thomson. “We appreciate everyone’s feedback – particularly the City of Kelowna – regarding the widening of this section of highway. These improvements will increase capacity and make travel safer.”

“These long-awaited upgrades to Highway 97 will benefit all of Kelowna. From students heading to and from UBCO, transit users, cyclists and residents of Quail Ridge, Rutland, Glenmore, Ellison and Lake Country, these improvements will provide much needed capacity and improve traffic flow,” said Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick. “As local MLA, I appreciate residents’ patience while we redesigned the project to address significant highway access concerns. It was important to get this right.”

“As the fastest growing region in Canada for the past two years, we’re very pleased to see the Province invest in this transportation infrastructure improvement,” said Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran. “This project will make travel through our city safer and more convenient.”

This $60-million project is a major commitment from B.C. on the Move – the ministry’s 10-year plan. The Province is investing $41.5 million in partnership with $18 million from the federal government through the Building Canada Fund.

Construction is anticipated to commence early this spring with completion in fall of 2017.

Link

[SOSS]

Or maybe the Highway 33 Extension (aka Central Okanagan Multi Modal Corridor). That that will require municipal contributions.