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Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran says city hall and council must consider a vast area of downtown when planning development of the Civic Precinct, not just a handful of properties.
Basran was responding to a proposal put forward by a group of citizens identifying themselves as Kelowna Legacy Group, which asked the city to take a step back before deciding the best use for the former RCMP detachment site on Doyle Avenue.
Development of that land would represent the first brick in the city’s Civic Precinct Plan to redevelop the area from Queensway to Clement avenues and Water to Ellis streets.
The Legacy Group’s plan looked only at the RCMP site, adjacent Kelowna Community Theatre, City Hall parking lot and Memorial Arena.
“Of course, we want to maximize the potential for the (RCMP) site, as it is a prime, premier piece of property in our downtown,” said Basran. “In keeping with the plan, the development calls for densified housing and mixed-use commercial. The plan will help this area of downtown continue to grow into a destination to live, work, shop, learn and play.”
Basran added the high concentration of publicly owned lands (City Hall, Memorial Arena, Kelowna Museum, Kelowna Art Gallery, downtown library, theatre, RCMP site) makes the area unique and the “civic heart” of downtown.
“The plan,” Basran said, “identifies key sites for future mixed-use development, (RCMP site and Interior Health site on Ellis) and protects sites (KCT, City Hall parking lot, Memorial Arena) for future civic uses to support a dynamic cultural district.”
Basran says staff is looking at a number of redevelopment options for the RCMP site, and indicates they will review submissions from the recently closed request for proposal process, including input from the Kelowna Legacy Group.
City council adopted the Civic Precinct Plan in 2016 as a long-term vision for the area.
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