Work on highrise about to resume
Construction should resume next week on a Kelowna highrise that was hit with a stop-work order two months ago.
Permits allowing the resumption of work on the 14storey Ellis Parc project, being built at the corner of Ellis Street and Water Street, will be issued within a few days, city building inspection services manager Doug Patan said Thursday.
“We feel very good with regards to this project as it it moves forward again,” Patan said.
The stop-work order was issued when cracks opened up in Ellis Street as crews were building the tower’s foundation. Vibrations from the construction activity caused the cracks, Patan said.
After the order was issued, the developer, R.G. Properties, was required to get a peer review done of the building’s structural plan. The city has received that review and is awaiting some additional information before issuing the necessary permits, Patan said.
R.G. Properties, which built the adjacent Prospera Place arena 20 years ago, has also now submitted a dewatering plan for Ellis Parc. That’s required because the building’s parkade will be located below ground in an area with a high water table.
When work begins, crews will also take the opportunity to excavate Ellis Street to its mid-point so an aging water main can be replaced, Patan said. R.G. Properties will pay for that project.