After sitting idle for several years, a vacant lot at the corner of Ellis St. and Lawrence Ave. will soon be home to a 20 storey building called Ella — part of Mission Group’s plan of making downtown Kelowna a ‘walkable’ community.
“To truly have a walkable community you need people living there,” Jonathan Friesen, CEO of Mission Group said. “Having a walkable community really requires a certain amount of density living in the area.”
Finding people to live in Ella is not an issue. Friesen said 80 per cent of the units are already sold and a good chunk of the buyers — four out of 10 — are from the Coast.
“There’s a bit of an exodus from Vancouver from people who want to live in the Okanagan,” Friesen said. “They see our prices and they think it’s ridiculously cheap.”
Construction of Ella will begin right away and will take nearly two years to complete. It will be one of two projects Mission Group will be undertaking in the downtown core.
It has also purchased the old Bargain Shop building at the corner of Bernard Ave. and St. Paul St. which has been sitting vacant for several years.
Mission Group wants to build another residential and commercial building at that location.
Mission Group still has to get council’s approval and details on the height are still being worked out but Mission Group said it will be at least 20 storeys.
So the growth in Kelowna continues at an unprecedented pace. But how long can it last? When will the bubble burst? Mission Group says this is no bubble.
“A bubble represents something that’s probably got no content in it and can easily burst,” Friesen said. “That’s not the situation we see right now. We see nothing in the immediate future that would signal a massive change,” Friesen said.