IN BRIEF Vancouver firm setting up shop at Innovation centre

Development variance permit gets OK from council

PENTICTON — A development variance permit for 2203 Dartmouth Dr., in Penticton, which will allow the applicant to build the second phase of a commercial development, was approved unanimously Tuesday by city council.

This will include five additional strata lots along with a caretaker suite.

It will require a yard setback from 4.5 metres to zero.

Wellness centre open inside Cottonwoods facility

KELOWNA — A seniors health and wellness centre has opened inside Kelowna's Cottonwoods Care Centre.

The wellness centre is a partnership between Interior Health and the Central Okanagan Division of Family Practice.

Services include short-term therapeutic interventions, and access to a geriatrician and family doctors with a special interest in geriatrics.

The centre's team includes nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, dieticians, occupational therapists and social workers.

In addition to health assessments and treatments, the centre will provide education and connections to other community services to help seniors access programs.

Referrals to the centre can be made through family doctors or nurse practitioners.

“The level of support offered through the new model will help seniors age in place while reducing emergency department visits, preventing hospital admissions and avoiding premature placement in long-term care facilities,” said Interior Health board chair John O'Fee.

KELOWNA — The Profile Coworking Business Club, a Vancouver-based company, is moving into the Okanagan Centre for Innovation in Kelowna.

The company will take up over 14,000 square feet of the building over two floors and will act as a space for entrepreneurs to work on their businesses.

“We are very excited to expand to Kelowna and to be a part of the great growth in the region,” said Sunny Hundle, executive director of business development and operations. “We saw Kelowna as a great opportunity to tap into talented companies and to help them grow by not only providing open access to all of our locations, but by creating a space that focuses on community, growth and collaboration.”

Club members will have 24-hour access to open areas, meeting rooms, boardrooms and high-speed Internet to allow entrepreneurs and businesses time and space to work on projects.

Private offices and desk areas will be open for members on May 1, and the community lounge area will be open to membership early this summer.