Homes to breathe new life into old Penticton building
27 apartments being added to top 2 floors of City Centre building
One of the most iconic structures in downtown Penticton is entering its next phase of life.
Work is already underway to add 27 residential apartments to the top two floors of the City Centre building, which was originally constructed in the 1950s as a Bay store at the intersection of Main Street and Wade Avenue.
Rise Developments CEO Greg Appelt said the apartments, a mix of two- and three-bedroom units, are expected to go on the market in the fall as long-term rentals at an as-yet undetermined price.
Because the structure was designed as a department store, “it’s got this large, square floor plate that you wouldn’t normally see in an apartment building, but what it does is make these big, deep units,” explained Appelt.
The apartments will highlight the three-storey building’s heritage and brick work, while at the same time boasting a contemporary loft feel, he added.
Parking will be provided in the existing lot behind the building off Martin Street.
Appelt’s group, which is based in Kelowna, purchased the building in 2012 with an eye to attracting professional services like doctors and lawyers, but the strategy didn’t pan out.
“We reduced prices significantly, and there just wasn’t demand,” he said.
“And then the market turned, so we turned with it and pivoted towards apartments, which is in huge demand since supply is lacking — particularly good downtown product.”
Indeed, the rental vacancy rate in Penticton stood at just 0.9 per cent as of October 2017, the most recent period for which data is available from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Besides increasing the stock of rental housing, “Having 27 households in that area should also improve safety, by having residents living there full time,” Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said in an email.
“The hope is that having more people in the downtown will also help businesses and restaurants.”
Jakubeit said planning documents filed with the city indicate the conversion will cost in the range of $3 million and involve only minor exterior alterations in the form of five new windows on the back of the building.
A new lobby for the apartments will be added to the bottom floor, where current tenants, including a pharmacy, real estate office and financial advisory firm, will stay put.
No rezonings or variances were required for the project.
“It is great to see the investment the city has made into revitalization is igniting private development building opportunities for people to work, live and play downtown,” Jakubeit added.
When it opened in 1954 as the Bay, the building had only two floors; the third was added six years later.
Zellers took over the space in 1985 after the Bay moved to Cherry Lane Shopping Centre.
With the departure of Zellers in 1996, then-owners Kenyon and Co. converted the building to the mix of shops and services that is now making way for apartments.
The building was valued at $5.5 million as of July 2017, according to B.C. Assessment.