It’s good news for drivers at the South Okanagan Events Centre (SOEC) who complain there isn’t enough parking since the Cascades Casino moved in last year.
The City of Penticton said it plans to purchase four residential properties on Eckhardt Ave. to expand the SOEC complex.
The price tag is more than $1.5 million with funds being drawn from the city’s Land Acquisition Reserve.
The land deal will appear as a budget amendment during a regular council meeting in April 3.
“In recognition of the growing volume of activities taking place at the SOEC complex as a whole, the city has acquired four nearby properties along Eckhardt Avenue that, after existing structures are removed in the future, will provide new land for further development,” said the city’s chief financial officer Jim Bauer, in a release.
The land’s future use will be determined in part by the outcome of the city’s forthcoming SOEC parking strategy, set to commence soon.
In the short-term, visitors to the SOEC are advised to watch for the arrival of 40 additional parking spaces currently occupied by the vacated temporary Visitor Centre.
The city is also considering a proposal to build a new twin-surface, multi-use arena on the SOEC campus, turning Memorial Arena into a dry rink and decommissioning Mclaren Arena.
A local resident, Sharlene Franklin, started an online petition in protest of the perceived lack of parking at the SOEC complex.
WATCH BELOW: Penticton and Gateway go all-in on new casino location