Newspaper building to become wine education centre
The transformation of an historic newspaper building into a multi-million-dollar wine education and entertainment centre is underway in downtown Kelowna.
Workers are refashioning The Courier building, built in 1908 at the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Water Street, into a destination venue that will include a restaurant, wine bar, tasting rooms, exhibition space and rooftop patio. Total capacity will be 600 people.
“It’s an exciting project and it’ll be great for downtown Kelowna,” top city planner Ryan Smith said Tuesday.
“It’ll be a real landmark building.
“We’re excited about the heritage preservation that’s going to take place, and all the
modern elements,” he said.
The two-storey building’s distinctive brickwork will be retained to ensure an appealing streetscape, but a comprehensive rebuilding and renovation program is planned for the interior.
City records show the building was built in stages between 1908 and 1939. It was the location of The Courier newspaper, which was established in 1904, until the business moved to larger premises in 1957.
Since then, it has had a variety of owners, and was the Kelowna location of the Keg restaurant in the ’90s. It had been vacant for some time until it was purchased by an as-yet undisclosed winery for the new project.
“This has the potential to be something very exciting and something different for our downtown,” Mayor Colin Basran said earlier this year as council granted the necessary approvals.