Image: Contributed
On the surface, 2169 Pandosy might look like your average, mixed-use development that is becoming commonplace in Kelowna. Peel back the layers, however, and it soon becomes clear the project is going to be so much more than that.
The building is going to provide a convenient location for those who have to spend extended periods at Kelowna General Hospital, which is right across the intersection. It is going to help Kelowna attract medical professionals from around the world. It is going to be a healthy space for everyone who enters it. And it is going to preserve one of Kelowna’s oldest homes at the same time.
After extensive consultations with a number of different city staff and heritage experts, GTA Architecture is ready to put shovels in the ground at the site between Pandosy Street, and Royal and Glenwood avenues. The city is on board, heritage consultants are happy with the revitalization plan, and the developers are ready to make a positive impact in their community.
Image: Contributed
“This project is about creating an overall health centre, one that complements services to KGH and the proposed health district,” GTA operations director Karen Willson says. “This includes offering more medical suites in proximity to KGH, which is needed now more than ever due to what’s happening in the world and the importance placed on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.”
The plans call for a 74-unit hotel on one half of the five-storey building and 35,000 square feet of commercial space on the other side of a large atrium. The commercial area will be intended for medical services like laboratories, MRIs, specialists and doctor offices, but it could also serve as a research and development location or a training facility for medical experts coming into Kelowna.
“It’s more of a forward thinking medical space than just straight commercial,” Willson says.
The hotel won’t be exclusively for those who need to be close to Kelowna General Hospital, but it will likely make plenty of sense for those people to use it.
The structure will strive to meet the WELL Building Standard, which is the premier grade for buildings and interior spaces seeking to implement, validate and measure features that support and advance human health and wellness. The site is under the city’s HD2 designation, which is a high density zoning to provide services to the medical community associated with Kelowna General Hospital, Interior Health Authority and UBC medical programs.
2169 Pandosy will also incorporate the historically relevant parts of Collett House, a heritage home that currently sits on the southeast corner of the property. The exterior cladding, chimney, windows, frames and porch were deemed to be the key heritage features of the house. The developer will retain three sides of the home, following the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada publication, and it will be moved to the southwest corner of the property and become a key part of the project. The house will intentionally stand out from the rest of the building design which again is in accordance with requirements set forth by heritage restoration guidelines.
“With the new federal guidelines, they want the heritage component to stand out and to be showcased, and by showcasing it that means the surrounding part of it is different so it doesn’t blend in,” GTA founder Garry Tomporowski says. “And that’s exactly what we’ve accomplished here.”
Image: Contributed
This article is written by or on behalf of the sponsoring client and does not necessarily reflect the views of Okanagan Edge.
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