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Kelowna’s north end industrial area is in the midst of a minor makeover, one the planning department says is part of an overall market shift.
The topic arose as council was asked to approve a zoning amendment that would allow select commercial uses on a property at 760 Vaughan Ave.
Planner Terry Barton said commercial uses would include enterprises such as retail stores, business support services, offices, and liquor primary and spectator entertainment establishments.
“Change in use would allow the developer to establish an adaptive reuse of one of the warehouse buildings in support of a liquor primary establishment and spectator entertainment establishment, in this case a dinner theatre,” Barton said.
“As well the small industrial building along Vaughan Avenue would be demolished in favour of a new building that would take advantage of some of the new uses.”
Barton told council some degree of commercial is already taking place within the immediate neighbourhood, specifically at BC Tree Fruits and Sandhill Winery.
And, on the other side of Vaughan, PC Urban is proceeding with a mixed use residential, commercial and industrial development.
Barton told council planning staff would not be supportive of residential creeping further north from Clement but indicated the Vaughan proposal is indicative of some shifts in industrial areas.
“The market demand for the type of industrial that we are seeing these days is not rooted what Kelowna was 20 or 30 years ago with heavy industrial such as Crown Packaging or Western Star,” Barton said.
“That’s not the type of industrial that we are seeing. Regardless of whether these land uses are achieved, Kelowna and the future of industrial is very much mixed-use development, light industrial, quasi industrial-commercial. That’s very much where Kelowna is at.”
Barton did say the proposal council approved Monday is within what most people would consider an “industrial character.”
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