Image: HM Commercial Group
The long-vacant former home of The Bargain Shop on Bernard Avenue has just sold to a local developer.
The Kelowna property, located at 560 Bernard Ave., across from the Towne Centre Mall, has sat empty since the discount shop closed its doors in 2010.
The 1.5-acre site is made up of six properties, stretching along an entire city block.
Last month, HM Commercial group listed the property, pegging its value at $9.4 million and advertising it as the potential site of a 26-storey highrise.
Today, it announced it had sold the property to a “local developer.” However, it did not reveal exactly who bought the property, or how much they shelled out for it.
“Although this property is still in the conceptual stage, the proposed redevelopment will enhance the revitalization of Downtown Kelowna. It is a major strategic chess-piece,” Marshall McAnerney said in a press release.
When the property first went up for sale, city planner Ryan Smith told Castanet the property is one of the “key sites” in downtown Kelowna.
“The Safeway site is a very key site at that end of Bernard, and we think of this as the other key site,” said Smith.
Since the properties are currently zoned as C4 and C7 commercial, it could be redeveloped into a mixed-use commercial and residential complex.
Smith said the city hoped whoever bought the former Bargain Shop property would turn into a mixed use development.
“We certainly hope whoever buys it would like to redevelop it first of all, and would like to potentially do a mixed-use redevelopment on the site,” said Smith.
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