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The City of Kelowna has purchased property on Abbott Street owned by philanthropist Wally Lightbody for a future park expansion.
The city announced it had purchased the property at 2302 Abbott for $5.3 million. Funds for the purchase came through the city’s parks acquisition development cost charge program.
The property will eventually be used for the future expansion of Strathcona Park. It is situated immediately to the south of the park.
Kelowna’s property specialist says the city reached a fair deal in its purchase. It bought the property for $5.3 million, but the 2021 assessment came in at slightly more than $3.4 million.
Ben Walker told Castanet the city did get a third-party appraisal of the property before pulling the trigger on the purchase. While assessments can give an accurate picture of a property’s value, Walker says in this case, it’s a bit skewed.
“Keep in mind, this is two individual lots. Someone could come in, acquire the land, tear down the house, and sell the land as two lots,” he said. “I would say, with the community benefit, we got good value for this.”
Walker feels a one-acre waterfront property assessed at $3.4 million is pretty low.
Public access to the property will still be restricted, since the previous owner will continue to rent the home from the city until such time as it is developed.
“Improving public access to the waterfront along Okanagan Lake continues to be a priority in our land acquisition strategy,” Mayor Colin Basran said in a press release. “Being in a key location next to an existing public park, this acquisition presents an ideal opportunity to increase connectivity along Kelowna’s waterfront.”
The Cape Cod style home was built by Lightbody’s father-in-law, Dr. Walter Anderson, himself a well known physician and philanthropist.
“I’m pleased to know that this property will be shared with the entire community in the future,” Lightbody said in the release. “Kelowna is such an active city with a strong heritage, and I love living here. I’m happy that this property will contribute to that legacy for future generations.”
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