Developer hoping for approval on controversial downtown Kelowna skyscraper

The redevelopment of the former RCMP detachment site in downtown Kelowna has been bogged down in controversy, but the developer is not deterred and is making another attempt to get permission from the city for a skyscraper.

Appelt Properties has submitted another development permit to the city for the project dubbed the Muse. The application was initially submitted back in October and it’s going to be heard at a council meeting with a public hearing on May 13.

Kelowna city council had approved a development permit back in July 2022, but it was later quashed after Tom Dyas was elected mayor.

Last year, the developer filed a lawsuit against the city and a lawsuit against Dyas for political interference for what it claimed was unfair opposition to the plan.

The developer was also caught giving university students $250 to speak at a public hearing, which led to the city cancelling the project in April 2023.

Appelt initially designed a 13-storey building, but after receiving feedback from the city it redesigned it into a slimmer 25-storey building. Council approved the 25-storey plan in July 2022 before it was shut down following Dyas’ election as mayor.

The new proposal includes 259 units in a 25-storey building with storefronts on the ground floor.

“There’s no secret that it’s been a frustrating process, with well-funded, well-organized opponents of the project doing everything they can to prevent its construction,” Greg Appelt, president of Appelt Properties, previously told iNFOnews.ca.

The fate of the project is once again up for debate at the public hearing May 13, so time will tell whether Appelt Properties will be able to make its vision a reality.