Kelowna City Acquires Prime Waterfront Land for $27.8M

UPDATE: Kelowna City has just announced the acquisition of valuable waterfront land for $27.8 million, aiming to finally realize the long-dreamed hotel project. This significant purchase involves three key properties from developer Westcorp, including a prime location near Kerry Park and the former site of the Willow Inn Hotel.

Mayor Tom Dyas emphasized the urgency of this development, stating, “We do need to start to build something that would benefit the overall community on this very prestigious location.” The city’s decision to move forward comes after a decade of delays and failed attempts by Westcorp to develop the area into a world-class hotel and convention center.

The acquired properties include a large office building adjacent to the Queensway bus loop and the Kelowna Marina. Dyas explained that the city will hold the properties until a developer is ready to take over, stating, “When somebody looks at coming to develop the property, they would then buy the property back from the city.”

To fund this ambitious project, the city secured a loan from the Municipal Finance Authority, ensuring attractive financing terms. Dyas assured taxpayers that the mortgage will be covered by current revenue from the sites, with no impact on local taxes. However, this move has drawn criticism from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Carson Binda, the B.C. director for the federation, expressed concerns, stating, “The city needs to be focusing on core services, not role-playing as property developers and risking taxpayer money to do it.”

Responses from Kelowna residents are mixed. “I’m okay with it,” said local resident Diane Brodeur, adding she hopes for height restrictions in future developments. Conversely, Linda O’Farrell voiced her discontent, stating, “I think it’s pretty excessive. And I think we are overbuilt downtown anyway.”

The former developer, Westcorp, expressed optimism about the city’s purchase. In a statement, they noted, “Westcorp has long believed that a hotel on this key development site was the right thing to do for the City of Kelowna. We very much look forward to this vision being realized.”

Next steps involve engaging Avington Financial Limited, an international brokerage specializing in hospitality, to attract potential developers. Dyas highlighted the importance of this partnership, saying, “This has now opened it up worldwide to a substantially larger number of considerations, and I think when it becomes a larger audience, there’s a much greater chance of success.”

As this story develops, the focus will be on how the city plans to navigate the challenges of bringing this long-anticipated vision to life. Keep an eye on Kelowna’s waterfront as it moves closer to becoming a hub of community and tourism.