Cost of new downtown Kelowna parkade on the rise

KELOWNA – The number of parking stalls planned for the city’s latest downtown parkade has jumped but so has the price tag.

In a report to council, director of infrastructure Allan Newcombe says capacity of the new parkade will jump from 438 stalls under the original proposal to 566 stalls.

The original budget of $15.83 million will climb proportionately to $19.25 million, with the increase funded from the city’s downtown parking reserve.

Newcombe says the increase in cost is justified by the parkade’s proximity to both the Kelowna Community Health Services building and the Okanagan Centre for Innovation which are both under construction across the street from the future parkade site. The existing Library parkade is also undergoing expansion as the city struggles to keep up to demand in the downtown core.

The new structure will provide 139 public parking stalls, 380 dedicated to Interior Health Authority staff from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, another 30 reserved around the clock for health authority staff, plus 17 stalls for City of Kelowna fleet vehicles.

Two floors of commercial space on Ellis Street will also be constructed. The space will be occupied by city bylaw staff.

Construction has yet to begin on the parkade which will occupy the current pay parking site between Memorial Arena and Kelowna Museum.

As well, Newcombe is recommending the city adopt Memorial parkade as the official name of the structure based on current naming conventions for city properties.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at 250-808-0143 or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.