Kelowna climbs the national rankings, but is that good?
The latest apartment building to near completion and help ease Kelowna’s rental crunch is 1920 Enterprise Way.
The 87-unit, four-storey, $13-million building hugging Mill Creek takes its name from its address.
It’s well under construction now and will be ready in April for renters to move in.
There are 19 studio suites that will rent from $1,250 monthly, 17 one-bedroom units from $1,395 and 51 two-bedrooms starting at $1,695.
Mission Group is the developer and builder.
“Mission Group’s focus has been for-sale condominiums (Verve, Central Green, Ella and Brooklyn), but part of our strategy going forward is also rental properties that create a constant income stream,” said Mission Group’s rental manager Steve Abel.
“Kelowna is such a desirable place to live that it has a market of all kinds of people looking to either buy or rent.”
Mission Group is touting 1920 Enterprise Way as the ideal location in the centre of the city near the corner of Enterprise and Spall Road, but also close to greenery and recreation with the adjacent creek, Okanagan Rail Trail and Parkinson Recreation Centre.
Rents at 1920 Enterprise Way are a little above the Kelowna averages outlined in the PadMapper.com’s Canadian Rent Report (see next item below).
That’s because of all the luxury extras, according to Abel.
“There will be stainless-steel appliances, quartz countertops, high-speed wifi included in the rent and in-suite laundry,” he said.
“The building will also be pet-friendly, so in the heated, underground parking area there will also be a dog wash as well as bike wash, bike storage and electrical vehicle charging stations.”
Mission Group has two other recently-completed rental buildings adjacent to UBC Okanagan, Ivy Walk and Ivy Hall, both on Academy Way.
More than Ottawa
It’s now more expensive to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Kelowna than it is in the nation’s capital.
For years, Kelowna has perpetually been the eighth most expensive city in Canada for one-bedroom rents behind No. 7 Ottawa.
However, in October the two cities switched spots with the average one-bedroom rent in Kelowna increasing 5.8 per cent from September to $1,280 a month, according to PadMapper.com’s Canadian Rent Report.
Over the same period, the average monthly rent in Ottawa dipped 4.7 per cent to $1,280.
There were no other changes in the top 10, with Toronto No. 1 at $2,220, followed by Vancouver, Burnaby, Montreal, Barrie, Victoria and Oshawa at No. 9 and Calgary at No. 10 with $1,150.
With the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom up 3.2 per cent in October to $1,600, Kelowna is the fifth priciest in the country.
Vancouver is the most expensive at $3,160, followed by Toronto, Burnaby and Montreal.
Rounding out the top 10 for twobedrooms are Ottawa, Barrie, Victoria, Hamilton and Calgary and Kitchener at a tie for No. 10 with $1,410.
Hockey money
Whether they go on to earn millions in the NHL, attend college or university or enter the regular workforce, Kelowna Rockets hockey players will be ready with some real-life financial know how.
The Western Hockey League (WHL) team and CIBC have teamed up to offer Rockets players the bank’s Financial Skills Program during a special session in January.
“Everyone knows the Rockets score with fans big time when they are on the ice,” said personal and small business executive vice-president Stephen Forbes.
“We at CIBC want to make sure they continue to score off the ice, too, which is why we developed this course to set them up for financial success no matter where their careers take them.”
The in-class and online lessons about budgeting, borrowing, credit and savings are part of the annual training camp for all 1,500 players aged 16-20 in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which covers the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
CIBC is the official bank of the CHL and its 23 teams.
Chamber endorsed
The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce is ready and willing to do whatever it can to make downtown cleaner, safer and more economically viable.
“While it has neither the authority nor the expertise to deal with the issues being discussed, the chamber can be a communications conduit for business owners, employees and customers who are impacted by the state of downtown,” said chamber president Carmen Sparg.
On Monday, retired Kelowna RCMP Supt. Bill McKinnon released the Public Safety Report at a city council meeting.
In an effort to battle the opioid drug crisis, homelessness and real and perceived dangers downtown, the wide-ranging report called on the city to be more aggressive in everything from hiring more police officers, getting bylaw officers more authority and establishing a community court to working more closely with police, Interior Health, other agencies and other levels of government.
Dean’s scholarship
Okanagan College School of Business dean Bill Gillett, and his wife Kathy, utilized yesterday’s Giving Tuesday to commit $20,000 to create two scholarships.
The annual Okanagan School of Business Dean’s Scholarship will provide two $2,500 prizes to third or fourth year students who go on to study international business at one of the colleges 16 partner institutions around the world.
“Business is global, and I think it’s important for students to have a multicultural experience,” said Gillett.
“In business you could be competing with foreign companies, you might have suppliers overseas or customers overseas.”
Giving Tuesday follows the spending sprees of Black Friday and Cyber Monday as a cue to donate to charity.
The Okanagan College Foundation also had a Giving Tuesday campaign to remind people to be philanthropic and recognize the donors, faculty, staff and alumni who support students.