Plans continue to evolve for sale of Naramata Centre lands

NARAMATA – Plans to sell a portion of the lands held by the Naramata Centre Society continue to move forward.

The board revealed its latest intentions in its October newsletter after spending the summer listening to feedback from centre participants, real estate professionals and politicians.

Society board chair Doug Woollard said present plans are to maintain a continuous footprint in order that Naramata Centre lands withheld from sale are all connected, along with access to the beach.

He said based on feedback received this summer, the board has reconsidered which pieces of land to sell out of their 23 acres of holdings and how it should be sold.

The board had also based much of their original planning on the need to retain a sewage pump station on one of the properties, but have since learned that may not be necessary. Woollard said that would give them more flexibility in deciding which properties should be sold off.

In determining the best layout and usage for a new reduced footprint for Naramata Centre, the board’s current intention is to identify all potential pieces of property for sale without committing themselves to selling every property.

Woollard said the board has also decided to partner with a developer to sell the land as a package rather than as individual lots.

Discussions also took place over the summer regarding the possibility of sharing a building with the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen that would house offices, a meeting area and other space. The centre would contribute the land.

An expression of interest will be issued to potential developers in the coming weeks, Woollard said.

Around 80 people turned up at a meeting intended to inform Naramata community members last week.

The decision to sell off a portion of the property came about as a result of changing needs of the centre, following a strike by unionized workers that ended in January 2015. The strike was followed by a subsequent shut down of the facility the following year.

Woollard said the operation no longer needs all the land it has and selling some of it has become a financial necessity.

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