Record-breaking development
Trevor Nichols - Jan 17, 2018 - Biz Releases

Image: Contributed
A concept of Highstreet Ventures’ apartment complex on Carrington.

Last year was a record-breaking one in West Kelowna, as the city issued permits for nearly 50 per cent more dwelling units than the previous year.

The city’s development services department says is handed out dwelling units in 2017,  covering everything from multi-family units, to carriage houses and secondary suites.

That shakes out to 48 per cent more than the 331 dwelling units the city added in 2016, representing a record construction value of $131 million.

The city also said more people renovated in 2017, with applications for reno projects up to 209, from 188 in 2016.

Meanwhile, city building inspectors conducted a total of 3,684 inspections in 2017, approximately 750 more than the year before.

According to Nancy Henderson, the city’s general manager of development services, the number of multi-family developments going up in West Kelowna is on the rise.

In a news release, Henderson says she is particularly excited about purpose-built rental projects like the one Highstreet Ventures is constructing on Carrington Road.

“It’s particularly nice to see purpose-built rental housing in Westbank Centre. We hope that increased residents in the area will help existing businesses and encourage new development which will attract new entrepreneurs and businesses,” she says.

Westbank Centre is an area the city says it has a “keen interest in seeing revitalized.” Council even approved a development cost charge reduction in the area, in the hopes of encouraging more development there.

Henderson says the city expects the pace of growth in 2018 “will continue as it has for the past two years,” given the volume of development applications that are continuing to come through.

“We have several multi-family projects on the horizon. We have also seen a significant increase in commercial additions and alterations and are currently processing permits for two new substantial industrial developments,” she says. “These new buildings are examples of both the expansion of an existing long-term West Kelowna business and a new business moving to West Kelowna.”


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