Big new development proposed
Trevor Nichols - Oct 10, 2017 - Biz Releases

Image: PC Urban
The residential buildings PC Urban hopes to build in an industrial area of Kelowna.

A Vancouver developer wants permission to build a pair of six-storey mixed use buildings on an empty industrial lot in Kelowna’s north end.

PC Urban Properties has submitted a proposal to the city to rezone a trio of properties, near 726 Clement Ave., from industrial use to urban commercial use. The company also wants special permission to build the planned buildings two storeys higher than the Official Community Plan allows.

PC Urban is already involved in other significant Kelowna developments, including a soon-to-be-built business park at the former home of Enterprise Steel.

The company’s goal with its Clement Avenue plan is to put two buildings on the corner edge of the combined properties, and cover the remaining acres in a parking lot. (The total size of the three properties together is 5.34 acres).

Together, the two buildings would take up approximately 13,477 square metres of space. Most of that would be dedicated to about 150 residential units, with the remaining 1,537 square feet given over to ground-floor retail space.

PC Urban says it plans to eventually submit a second application, to develop another vacant lot next to the buildings it’s currently asking to build.

Right now, the Clement Avenue properties are zoned for industrial use, and sit near several other industrial enterprises, some residential homes and the newly built police station.

Image: PC Urban The proposed layout of the combined properties

In its application letter, PC Urban says it has sought input from the city and other stakeholders, and that its proposal “takes into consideration the strong support for rezoning the property into a higher density urban zone and gateway into the downtown core.”

“While the existing Official Community Plan designates the site as industrial, based on pre-application discussions and meetings with the planning and engineering departments, we understand the proposed form of development is strongly aligned with the city’s objectives,” the company writes in its letter.

PC Urban says the buildings will help bolster the city’s renal unit inventory, as well as help transform the downtown north industrial area into a part of a “vibrant downtown core.”

While technically in an industrial area, the property sits just a few blocks away of the downtown core, the Bernard Street commercial corridor, and several large-scale residential and mixed-use developments.

“We believe the proposed form of development is consistent with and strengthens the existing neighbourhood; provides employment generating opportunities to the city; [and] maintains continuity of the urban environment,” the company writes in its application. “We are confident that the form of development is balanced and will function well for land use, parking, and tenant livability.”

The company only recently submitted the plan to Kelowna city planners, and the proposed project likely won’t come before council for a couple of months.

More detail on the proposed development is available here.

Image: Google Maps


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