Image: Contributed
Construction can now begin on a somewhat controversial residential development on the former Conservatory site.
On Friday, the city of Kelowna issued a building permit for a 166-unit, four-storey apartment building on Valley Rd.
The building is part of the 720 Valley Lands project, and will be the first of several apartments and townhomes that will eventually make up the nearly 500-unit development.
The project is part a massive redevelopment of the former site of the Conservatory, and will be the final one to go up there.
Image: Contributed
A concept of the completed 720 Valley Lands project.
According to the building permit, Traine Construction Ltd. will take on the project, which will cost about $20 million.
Kelowna city council approved the master site plan for this final Conservatory site community late last year, but were less than enthusiastic as they approved the design for the initial building in March.
Using phrases like “uninspiring” and “disappointed,” councillors described the building as looking like row housing, or dorm housing.
The proposed building is a large, purpose built rental building, with suites ranging from bachelors apartments to three-bedroom units.
The bulk of the building is 4 storeys high, and according city staff, “considerably larger than most residential projects.”
In an attempt to mitigate the “sheer size” of the building, the designer plans to use a number of materials and colours, articulate the roofline, and break up massing whenever possible.
The layout of the entire site which the building will be a part of is intended to transition between the existing 1.5-storey gated community to the north and six-storey Conservatory at the heart of the site.
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