Kelowna’s tallest building praised
Editor’s Note: The Daily Courier presents another story in its How They Voted pre-election series looking at how city councillors voted on key issues during the past four years.
Kelowna's tallest building — if it ever gets constructed — will highlight the skyline, revitalize Bernard Avenue and transform the downtown waterfront.
That was the kind of praise lavished on Westcorp’s plan for a 430-foot tower at the base of Queensway overlooking Okanagan Lake.
Council voted 5-2 in February of this year to greenlight the project, which has been around in one form or another for several years.
The latest revisions were an increase in height, to 33 storeys from 22 storeys, and the addition of luxury condos as well as hotel rooms. There was relatively little public opposition to the project, as evidenced by the fact that of the 120 individually-written letters received by the city clerk’s office, 114 were from people who supported the $200 million development.
Plans also show a public restaurant on the 17th floor, a convention centre, and ground floor commercial premises. Ironically, however, on the same day council approved the Westcorp tower, the NDP government brought down its 2018 budget that included the controversial speculation tax.
Aimed mainly at people who own second homes that are left vacant for more than six months a year, the tax is intended to bring more properties onto the rental market and cool the overall real estate market.
But critics say the tax will reduce investment, slow construction, trigger job losses, and deprive municipalities of new tax revenue. For its part, Westcorp has acknowledged the tax may affect its proposal, but the company is still moving forward with design work. A construction start date, however, has not been announced.
Here’s how council voted on Westcorp's plans for a 33-storey hotel and condo tower:
In support: Mayor Colin Basran and councillors Luke Stack, Mohini Singh, Brad Sieben and Gail Given.
Opposed: Councillors Ryan Donn and Charlie Hodge.
Absent was Councillor Tracy Gray. Councillor Maxine DeHart declared a conflict because she works at a hotel.
Clarification to last Tuesday’s How They Voted story on Tourism Kelowna’s new visitor information centre: Maxine DeHart was inadvertently omitted from the scorecard. She declared a conflict of interest, because she works at a hotel, and did not vote on the matter.