Kelowna City Council has approved the final amendments that have been made to a 33-storey hotel/ luxury condo building that will be built on the downtown waterfront.
“We just waited until we were certain about the internal structure,” Westcorp’s vice president of stakeholder management, Gail Temple, told Global News while waiting for council’s vote.
Council requested changes to the project back in February to accommodate step-backs in the alley and at Water Street.
The building will be bordered by Water Street and a newly dead-ended Queensway Avenue. Mill Street will be decommissioned and become part of the new public plaza.
Westcorp made the adjustments to its plans as well as some façade and terrace changes, which were all approved by council Monday afternoon.
While councillor Charlie Hodge voted against the changes, he noted he has voted against the entire project from the very beginning.
“Beautiful building, wrong location,” Hodge said.
“High-rises in the downtown do not belong on the downtown waterfront,” he said. “In my mind, I’ve always believed in the horseshoe look for high-rises. They shouldn’t block the water.”
Councillor Maxine Dehart abstained from the vote due to her employment in the hotel industry.
Temple said Westcorp will now move forward with their much-anticipated project.
“We are continuing on with our work on working drawings and yes, we will be putting together a presentation centre and our marketing work,” Temple said.
The developer and city have also come to an agreement on construction and maintenance of a public plaza between the building and the waterfront.
The plaza will be built by Westcorp at the company’s expense because it wanted to choose luxury materials for the area in front of the hotel project.
Westcorp will also maintain the public space at its own cost, including snow removal, landscaping and irrigation supply and maintenance.
A security and performance bond of $32,000 is included in the agreement.
The 131-metre tall building will include a 174-room hotel and 40 private, luxury condos.
Condo sales were put on hold earlier in the year after the B.C. NDP government announced a speculation tax on several communities, including Kelowna and West Kelowna.
“We’re still very unhappy about the speculation tax and don’t really think it will curb speculation or address affordability,” Temple said.
Condo sales in the Westcorp project will begin in early 2019, according to Temple.
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