Westcorp pushes for much bigger high-rise on Kelowna’s waterfront

KELOWNA – Perhaps emboldened by the recent decision on Central Green, developer Westcorp is pushing past planning staff and appealing directly to Kelowna council for a substantial increase in height to its downtown waterfront hotel project.

Westcorp Development is submitting revised plans that add just six floors and a bunch of condos but also takes the height of the building from 80 to 130 metres, almost 60 per cent taller than originally proposed.

Just last week, Kelowna council was frustrated in its hopes for a pair of high-rises on the Central Green site, when developer Al Stober Construction instead submitted plans for a much more modest five-story building.

However, because the proposal was within the zoning guidelines councillors found there was little they could do to get the development they wanted.

Urban planning manager Ryan Smith says the new Westcorp hotel plan is a substantial departure from what is allowed under the site’s zoning and planning staff have recommended against approval.

“Because there is a request for a development variance, council will have much more of an opportunity to influence the outcome,” Smith said.

And with such a prominent site in an exclusive area, Westcorp can likely expect some lively opposition to its revised plan when it goes to public hearing on Feb. 20.

Coun. Ryan Donn said one of the reasons he and his colleagues were pushing for height on the Central Green site is because the public prefers tall buildings to be inland.

"Developers will always want height close to the waterfront, the public will always want the height away from the waterfront," he said. "I think the public wants to see balanced development that doesn't just see towers up at the lakeshore."

Sitting on what might arguably be Kelowna’s highest-profile high-rise site, the Westcorp project has a long development history.

In 2007 Westcorp principal Phil Milroy financed what is known as a comprehensive development plan for a large swath of downtown, where the company also owns other property.

The plan, known as CD-21, would have governed not only the construction of the hotel site but also those around it, including height and density but also the placement of urban parks and street closures.

Centrepiece of the plan would have been the Westcorp hotel on land purchased in 2003, originally envisioned by the company as jutting out into Okanagan Lake, sitting in part on land in Kerry Park.

Public pressure at the time pushed the company to scale down their plans and pull it back from the water’s edge but it was ultimately all for naught as council of the day voted against the plan, forcing Westcorp to revise and scale back the wide-scale redevelopment of downtown Kelowna.

Construction on a 26-storey hotel was finally set to begin in 2016, when Calgary-based Westcorp abruptly announced it would delay construction, claiming at the time further study was needed of the water table in the area, site of the old Willow Inn hotel.

Instead of proceeding, the company this summer submitted a new design, pushing much of the parking underground and adding six storeys and 49 market condominiums to the original hotel, conference centre, restaurants and shops.

Read more stories about the Westcorp Hotel.

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