Highrises as far as the eye can see – but in West Kelowna?

There are currently about two dozen highrises in Kelowna and another 30 either under construction, approved or in the planning stages.

So, when talk of highrises is in the air, it’s Kelowna that most Southern Interior residents think about.

But that narrow focus is going to expand across Okanagan Lake now that the City of West Kelowna has adopted a new plan that will allow up to 19 storeys in its Westbank town centre.

“There are folks that are interested in going higher than that but council has been pretty clear in the Official Community Plan that that’s the top end that they would like to see,” Brent Magnan, planning manager for the City of West Kelowna, said.

The city’s new Official Community Plan was adopted last month and designates the Westbank urban centre as the ideal location for its highrise future.

That's a dramatic change from just two years ago when a Colliers Strategy and Consulting report went to West Kelowna council suggesting there would be no high-rises in the city for another 20 years or more.

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Brown Road is seen as the central focus with the highest buildings, from Gossett Road to Ingram Road.

That should feature mixed uses with commercial at the street level with offices and residential rising above, the plan says.

The commercial core would allow for highrises up to 15 storeys. It would include a stretch on the west side of the Old Okanagan Highway, some along Gellatly Road below Highway 97 and more in a wide band east of the main core towards Glenrosa Road.

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The rest of the Westbank urban centre is designated to have a residential focus with building heights up to a maximum of 12 storeys.

Magnan noted that those are maximum heights and can only be achieved through a density bonusing process that will apply to the specific zones. Neither the zones nor the bonusing rules are yet in their final form.

“We’re feverishly drafting those and working with others to figure out what they need to be and what they need to look like,” Magnan said, adding he’s hoping to take them to city council early in the new year.

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That doesn’t mean developers are sitting around waiting. He’s already working with some who are interested in highrises. He just can’t give out details yet.

“You will see developers, as we’re drafting the zones, come forward with comprehensive development zones which are specific to their sites that reflect what the Official Community Plan is showing,” Magnan said. “They will do that because they’re going to want to get their projects moving, even before the zoning bylaws are adopted.”

No matter how fast they move, West Kelowna’s first tower won’t be completed for another three to five years.

That gives West Kelowna Fire Rescue time to work with city council to make sure it gets the training, equipment and any other needed upgrades that are essential for highrise firefighting.

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