Mid-rise housing proposed for Penticton Superstore site
A seldom-used parking lot on the grounds of Real Canadian Superstore in Penticton is being eyed for residential development.
SmartCentres owns the 15acre property at 2210 Main St., which is home to a collection of big-box retailers like Staples and Superstore, plus some smaller businesses in strip malls.
The company is looking to add an unspecified number of residential units on the northwest corner of the site, near the intersection of McDougall Avenue and Main Street.
However, the project requires three zoning variances, including increasing allowable density and raising the maximum building height from 13 to 20 metres, which will need to be granted by Penticton city council.
The application had been scheduled for council’s April 2 meeting, but was postponed late this week to an unspecified date for unspecified reasons.
No public hearing is required for the rezoning, but details of the application were published in a public notice about the project.
The application material doesn’t specify how many housing units SmartCentres is proposing, and city spokesman Shane Mills said those details would come at the development permit stage.
According to a letter submitted by SmartCentres, it’s envisioning “mid-rise residential” development for the site that works around existing tenants.
“In addition to zoning regulations, the existing long-term standing tenancies carry additional restrictions on how the property can be developed and improved. SmartCentres would work closely with the existing tenants on intensification of the site with a residential building, once the zoning regulations are in place,” wrote Cristiana Valero, development manager for SmartCentres, in a letter to city staff.
“SmartCentres firmly believes in being an integral member of the community and the proposed rezoning would allow SmartCentres to further intensify this property with a future residential building providing rental apartments and/or condominiums.”
SmartCentres is a publicly traded company based in Ontario that boasts 191 properties across Canada worth $11.9 billion.