Construction has officially begun on the Kelowna development that will one day supplant the downtown core’s much-maligned dirt pile.
One Water Street will see a pair of residential highrises—29 and 36 storeys high—built atop a three-storey podium that will house about “a quarter mile” of retail space on the ground level of Sunset Drive, Clement Avenue, and Ellis Street.
At a ceremony marking the start of construction on the 36-storey East Tower, Kelowna mayor Colin Basran said One Water Street “will be one of the city’s most striking properties.”
According to Henry Bereznicki, a managing partner at North American Development Group, the mayor isn’t the only person impressed with the development.
He said the East Tower is “very close to being very sold out,” with more than 190 units already spoken for.
Because of that high interest, NADG and Kerkhoff Construction confirmed today that marketing for the second tower will begin today, with sales starting this spring, six months earlier than previously predicted.
Leonard Kerkhoff, the vice-president of Kerkhoff Construction, said his company plans to have the first tower finished by 2020. He said if demand for One Water Street units keeps up, the developers will go straight into the construction of the second tower.
Image: Trevor Nichols
Kelowna mayor Colin Basran presses the switch that officially kicked off construction at One Water Street.
Previously, NADG’s Russ Watson said the whole project could be completed in as few as four years.
For now, the developers have begun pile driving on the property. Kerkhoff said approximately 150 piles will eventually go into the ground, each as many as 150 feet long.
To mark the occasion, Kerkhoff announced the developers’ Kick off the Count program, which will see them donate one dollar for every foot of the East Tower’s pile to JoAnna’s House.
JoAnna’s House provides a place to stay for out-of-town families whose loved ones are getting treatment at Kelowna General Hospital.
“Community building is an important part of why we’re here today, and there are many others in the community at build communities in their own way,” Kerkhoff said, talking about JoAnna’s House’s contribution to the community.
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