This is the latest version of the West Corp. Hotel Plan.
Photo credit: SUBMITTED / Westcorp
November 29, 2019 – 2:47 pm
The massive downtown Kelowna hotel project, which has been debated in one form or another for more than a decade, is nearing completion.
In a press release sent on Friday, November 29th, Westcorp announced that it was working on finalizing deals with a hotel operator and had stopped building the hotel exhibition gallery (complete with a full-sized concept hotel room) Bernard busy avenue.
“Westcorp is now nearing the end of that process and is working to set a date for an important announcement event scheduled for early 2020,” Westcorp vice president of operations Gail Temple said in a press release.
The pre-construction analysis and refinements have also continued and have resulted in the addition of a third level of parking to the underground car park (the total number of parking spaces has increased from 295 to 331).
This change has enabled 14 hotel rooms to replace parking stalls on the Water Street facade of the podium. This change provides a more active interface to the road. Other benefits include a reduction in podium height, a change in the hotel backs and a change in the design relationship with the surrounding buildings.
West Corps’ plans have changed. Can you tell the difference
Photo credit: SUBMITTED / Westcorp
“Westcorp’s preparatory work in 2019 gave us some opportunities to improve the project from both a design and an operational perspective. While these changes will not significantly affect the appearance of the building, they will require the approval of the council and we will be presenting these changes to the city this afternoon, ”said Temple.
“We hope the council will be pleased with the changes and look forward to resuming the unit sales as planned in the spring.”
Construction on this iteration of the project should begin before the end of this year. In an earlier version, construction should start in 2016.
In 2007, Westcorp boss Phil Milroy funded a so-called comprehensive development plan for a large part of the city center, in which the company also owns other properties.
The plan, known as CD-21, would have governed not only the construction of the hotel grounds but also its surroundings, including height and density, but also the placement of city parks and road closures.
The heart of the plan would have been the land-based Westcorp Hotel, acquired in 2003, which the company had originally intended to protrude into Lake Okanagan and which was partly on land in Kerry Park.
Public pressure at the time urged the company to downsize its original plans and withdraw from the water, but it was all in vain when the council of the day voted against the plan.
The retreat from the Kelowna real estate market after the recession put the project back on hold.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2019
