Mark Anthony Group's downtown Kelowna project is moving forward

Kelowna City Council has approved a site-specific text amendment for a four-storey building that will see the redevelopment of a vacant heritage facade in downtown Kelowna.

During the June 18 public hearing, Kelowna council approved amendments that will see increased density and height for Mark Anthony Group’s proposed project at 1570 and 1580 Water Street.

In late April, plans for a 72-room, 12-storey “luxury boutique” hotel were submitted.

However, in early May city staff said they were contacted by the developers who said preliminary feedback from the neighbourhood caused the application to change.

The proposal is for a four-storey commercial building with residential units on the upper floors.

At the May 28 council meeting, a representative for Mark Anthony Group said a “verbal agreement” they had in place fell apart, which led to the change in development.

On Tuesday evening, that same representative provided the first look at the proposed mixed-use building.

“We propose a four-storey, high-quality boutique mixed-use building,” the rep said.

“The height of such a development will complement the heritage feel of the surrounding neighbourhood. The concert for this site seamlessly integrates the cherished heritage facade, meticulously considered views and a light material palette to infuse the site with a sense of livity and modern freshness.”

City council was told there would be 2,500 square feet of “open and vibrant” retail space that would be best situated for food and beverage uses or even a gallery space.

The three upper floors would have “distinctive and upscale” apartments with private rooftop terraces. Preliminary drawings show each floor would have two apartments with three bedrooms.

One member of the public asked if they would be short-term rentals or long term tenures and the developer said the units were intended to be market units.

Those drawings also show that there would be a six stall garage accessed off the alley.

However, staff said updated renderings would be presented at the development permit stage and the drawings were in response to the “accelerated timeline” to get the property developed after sitting vacant for five years.

Coun. Charlie Hodge asked staff to clarify that “what they were seeing was not necessarily what we’re getting but it's a hint at it.” Staff confirmed that the pictures shown during the public hearing were subject to change.

Mayor Tom Dyas asked the developer why there was a rush to get the property developed now, and why there was such a pivot away from the original plan.

The representative said they were “trying to be good neighbours” and get the site cleaned up as quickly as they can. He pointed to previous discussions about failed agreements with neighbours for the reason the proposed hotel could not move forward.

Coun. Ron Cannan asked why plans, which included a wine bar and lounge, approved in 2020 didn’t move forward. The company representative said liquor licence applications were not approved.

“The rush on this is appreciated. The outline with the drawings is definitely appreciated too,” said Dyas later in the meeting.

“But it has created a situation where a crane has been parked in the middle of our streets for a number of years now.And whatever moves forward with regards to this, we truly want to look at advancing this. So, we do appreciate the rush.”

Coun. Luke Stack thanked the developers for maintaining the heritage facade that faces onto Water Street and said the preliminary drawings showed potential for an “attractive” building for that area of downtown.

Coun. Charlie Hodge said if the city got what was shown in the preliminary drawings, it would be “a far greater improvement” from what was currently there. The long-time advocate for green space hinted at his support for the amount of green space being shown.

Ultimately, the site-specific text amendments for this project were given second and third readings.

Next steps will see the developer submit a development permit application for city staff and council to consider.