Kelowna Construction

[RHINO]

wow , what do you know , an old person against progress . Who could have thought such a thing .

[hollywoodnorth]

LOL what a douche........are his pants high enough? any floods expected up in Ktown this week?

[wisla_krakow]

lol
He's the arch rival of the Move Kelowna Forward group.

[vitc]

Don't even get me started!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by wisla_krakow

lol
He's the arch rival of the Move Kelowna Forward group.

LOL well lucky 4 you guys he looks to only have a few more years left hopefully only a few months

[vitc]

I think he is only 58-60 though...

[wisla_krakow]

That suburban living hasn't allowed him to age gracefully.

[wisla_krakow]

This is what the city proposes the downtown to look like:

http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/...ncept_Plan.pdf

I think it would look amazing. I like all the plazas and new recreational space created.

[wisla_krakow]

Also, here's some stuff on the Rutland town square:

http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/...n%20Square.pdf

http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/...t%20Design.pdf

http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/...0Esplanade.pdf

[vitc]

Dude!!! Nice find!!! That escaped us...wow! Thanks...

[wisla_krakow]

Yeah, haha, I was on the site looking for traffic stuff and found this.

[wisla_krakow]

Here's some news from Castanet on Westbank development applications.

Developments moving ahead
by Wayne Moore - Story: 35376
Nov 22, 2007 / 10:00 am

A number of developments for the Westside are moving forward.

The Regional Board, at its final meeting before the formation of the new Westside District Municipality, gave the green light to several proposals.

The developments will eventually go before the new Westside Council for further approval.

The applications included:

* Adopting OCP and rezoning bylaws for a proposed senior's condominium complex and supported living unit on the former site of the Westbank Packinghouse. The complex would include two 9 to 10 storey buildings an eight storey building and a three storey parkade.
* A rezoning application was approved for a 40 unit residential townhouse project adjacent to Shannon Way.
* Approved rezoning for a 220 unit 'resort style' apartment complex on 12.5 hectares of land adjacent to Auburn Road.
* Development permits were approved for a two storey, eight unit townhouse and a four storey, 52 unit apartment building along Shannon Ridge Drive.
* A development permit was also awarded to West Wynd Village Shopping Centre Ltd for a two storey, 51 unit commercial/residential building at 2528 Main Street in Westbank.

Castanet.net

[urbanprince]

I don't mind downtown Kelowna. Seemed really busy when I was there on business a few weeks ago.

What do you locals think of the new revitalization plan?

Has the market arrived in force? And will this plan create that new urbanism everyone wants?

Why have previous efforts failed?

My thoughts are the market was weak, there was no community based plan to guide investment, and the tax exemptions provided were not enough to deal with the market issues, so no one used the program to invest in any long term or coordinated way.

Your thoughts?

[wisla_krakow]

I like the new revitalization plan, it is a must.
I assume you're talking about the business/commercial market, and I'm not sure, to answer your question about it arriving.. We do get a lot of services opening up shop, but not many offices. I would hope that with the revitalization we get more office buildings, especially downtown.
Kelowna used to be a primarily agricultural town, and we are now a mainly tourism town. I don't think we have the labor market can be tapped into for offices and hq's, seeing as how half our population is over the age of 40 or 45.
We need this redevelopment of the city to bring new people, and with new people come the businesses. However, we need new businesses to bring the people to come live downtown. It's a catch-22.

[urbanprince]

I was referring to if people are ready to pay the bucks for the condos being sold. The prices seem outrageous. But if it's out of towners buying then I can see why.

My experience is that housing/ people always comes first, before the services. But downtown Kelowna seems to have most of the services already, or near the downtown. If too many out of towners buy those condo's and live there only 6 months of the year, that's great, but not the best for the downtown. There should be a real good mix of rentals, co-ops, social houisng, as well as condo's. This should be planned.

Revitalizing the downtown based on the tourism market is a good start. And a natural one. Make sure your community consultation process involves this sector somehow.

I think one of the biggest issues your downtown has is traffic congestion. When I visit Kelowna I dread the traffic congestion going into and out of the downtown. Enough to send me to other retail centers, e.g Westbank.

Building a bigger bridge is like adding more gigabytes to your computer. You just consume it and always need more. I have not seen the plans, but it seems the traffic engineering is diverting traffic away or around the downtown. If so, not good. Your town should really start laying the groundwork for a first class rapid transit system that will move people quickly all the way up and down the lakes. A world-class bike trail is another natural, both for tourism and the locals. I don’t see this in the plan that I have read so far. These items could be a mistake not recognized several hears from now.

That beautiful park on the lake is also natural for development. Restaurants and café’s would lure people in the evening along the lake. The downtown concerts are great as well. Just don’t build beautiful artistic spaces and things though. Build places for people to use.

There also seems to be a lot of empty space between the major traffic generators in the downtown. This discourage pedestrians from venturing further. But this will be in filled I am sure, with the right plan.

Its an exciting plan and a good start.

[wisla_krakow]

urbanprince, please run for mayor!

Sorry that I misunderstood what you said before. But yeah, it seems to be a speculative housing market. "Like build it and they will come." Do you know of the former Kelowna Senior Secondary site? It's right on Richter and Highway 97. The city wants that to be developed into housing towers, parks, and some retail/office. Most of the housing is to be affordable, because Kelowna lacks it dearly.

The revitalization process is getting lots of input from the people, in the form of surveys, and hopefully the city respects what the people want.
Also traffic downtown is a pretty bad issue, but the main cause for this traffic is Highway 97 and the bridge. A bigger bridge, so long as it can keep a steady flow, will ease many problems. A huge problem for people... like myself, is we do not want to deal with the traffic problems associated with the current bridge just to get into the city. Let alone if we have to travel further in.

The Westbank retail centers, in my opinion are a both a good and bad blessing. They will ease traffic into Kelowna, which is a positive, but it is a negative because many people like to only do one trip into the city (downtown, mall, Costco, etc etc) and this will decrease volume in downtown.

The new intersection improvements, like Pandosy, Water, and Abbot, are negative for traffic flow into downtown, so you're right, that issue should be addressed.
In this thread, I've posted a link to the city's plans for the Central Okanagan Bypass. This will be a new highway, kind of like Nanaimo's, that will direct through traffic (trucks and what not) around Kelowna, and ease traffic flow on Highway 97. With this, the city is interested (not sure if it's feasible, but at least it's a start) in light-rail transit alongside the bypass. I think it would be an amazing achievement to have in 15 to 20 years, because we would definitely need it. Our current transit is shit. Plain shit.

And, for the parks along the waterfront, the city (I think I posted it on this page) is expanding Stuart Park+Kerry Park, and creating a very nice plaza and marina. Hopefully with cafes and restaurants. With the redevelopment plan, the city would like to create more public spaces downtown, including pedestrian only streets/alleys, which would create an amazing vibe for the city.

Whether the city acts now or not, it will decide if I stay here when I finish my degree or move somewhere else.

I hope I answered your questions better this time.

[urbanprince]

Mayors are as only good as the people that surround them. Not many understand revitalization. We had a good one, Glen Murray. But he became to popular for Winnipeggers who seem to act like piranhas when someone with vision steps up.

One thing for sure. The new downtowns of today cater to tourism, community institutions (culture, arts, education, music, plays, others), unique retailing and entertainment type uses. They can’t compete with the suburban models.

Downtown Kelowna has an incredible park, which draws every family at one time or another. Residential development is a long-term goal for most downtowns.

Your right transit and transportation are key investments needed today.

This is the model, which could lead to incredible things in a few decades.






.

[vitc]

We were able to get ahold of the rendering for the Shelter Bay proposal...check it out:

http://kelownaforward.proboards39.co...ead=1198263984

[wisla_krakow]

WOW, that's gorgeous. I'm a little concerned about the hight though. I don't see such large buildings being efficient there. I mean there's almost no previous infrastructure there.
But, damn, if they look that good, I might just have to give them two thumbs up.
Thanks.

[vitc]

FYI - it will be developed by Concord Pacific aka False Creek Vancovuer