Oliver moving ahead with community plaza
A yet-to-be-announced $600,000 federal grant will help fund construction of a flagship public space in Oliver.
The total cost of the sprawling Station Street Plaza is estimated at upwards of $1 million, with the balance to be funded by the town.
Construction is slated to start in August, after council signed off on the plan at its meeting Tuesday.
“The design features a 10,000-square-foot outdoor plaza with wood benches and Adirondack chairs, along with a small path connection to the hike and bike path. A tree preservation plan is currently underway to determine if the existing mature trees can be retained,” wrote Randy Houle, the town’s director of development services, in his report to council.
“The Station Street Plaza will be a major addition to this area, with an ability for residents and visitors to gather outside, (such as) seasonal events, farmers’ markets, outdoor art gallery as well as several other potential uses.”
The plaza, which will be constructed adjacent to the Okanagan River, will be raised to ensure it stays above water in what is a marshy area.
Landscape architect Matthew Thomson described the plaza as the “first piece in the
larger build-out” of the area, which will require future work to really “activate the space.”
The town-owned site near the north entrance to Oliver is a narrow strip of land approximately 200 metres in length, bounded by the Okanagan River to the east, Lion’s Park to the north and the Coast Hotel to the south.
It was formerly part of the Centennial RV Park, which closed to make room for the new hotel.
Council has made the revitalization of Station Street a priority and set the stage for the plaza with a $1.4-million project last year that saw crews replace underground utilities and repave the road.