Cultural hub another piece of redevelopment plans for former Kelowna RCMP site

While Kelowna city staff are still evaluating proposals for a residential tower on the site of the former RCMP building, they’re also outlining plans for the public space within that building.

Part of the requirement of any developer who wants to build on the 350 Doyle Ave. property is that they complete a section of the Art Walk and provide 6,000 square feet of public space within the building that will connect to an outdoor plaza.

Staff are recommending the indoor space be used by two to four “cultural/creative” groups in what it has been dubbed a “cultural hub.”

It would be “space that, through good design and appropriate technical equipment, can flexibly accommodate administration, essential storage, incubation and rehearsal of new work and performance,” states a report going to Kelowna city council on Monday, Nov. 4.

The successful groups would set up a business plan aimed at “financial sustainability,” the report states.

The plan is to first call for a Request for Expressions of Interest. The outcome of that effort will determine what kind of selection process is put in place.

Staff also recommend that B.C. Artscape be hired as a consultant to work with the successful applicants and that the City apply for a $35,000 Heritage Canada grant to fund half the cost of determining whether such a creative hub is feasible.

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