Ellis Parc high-rise languishes under stop-work order in downtown Kelowna

KELOWNA – A stop-work order against a high-rise in downtown Kelowna is still in place three weeks after it was first issued.

Construction of Ellis Parc, a 14-storey high-rise on Clement Avenue and Ellis Street, was ordered halted when cracks began appearing in the roads beside the site.

Building inspection services manager Doug Patan said architects for RG Properties, which also owns Prospera Place, are completing a peer review of the building’s structural plan as part of removing the stop-work order

“We haven’t received their peer review yet and they were getting pretty close,” Patan said. “Their shear walls (for the foundation) have gone in and there was an issue when the road cracked.”

Patan said the stop-work order was “proactive” trying to stop the developer from getting too far ahead of its permits.

“We thought let’s not move forward in case something happens,” he added. “Developers get anxious because time is money and they want to get building.”

While not related to the stop-work order, Patan said the developer is also required to provide a de-watering plan outlining how excess water will be removed from the site during construction.

“That water has to go somewhere, so they have to make sure where they dump that water isn’t going to have an ill effect on other properties,” Patan added.

Patan said adding more water right now, would hamper efforts to pump out water from the city's storm sewers during the spring freshet.

“The last thing we want to do is have them dumping excess water into storm sewers and then having it pumped back into the lake,” he said.

Ellis Parc requires a de-watering plan because its parkade will be below ground, Patan said, while One Water across the street does not because its parking will be above ground.

Patan said he expects to see the peer review for Ellis Parc as early as next week.

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