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Reprinted from Business Examiner

Business Examiner, September 4, 2007

is condo development  

by Darcy Nybo

Kelowna’s Manteo Waterfront Resort recently announced the purchase of the Lakeshore Inn. The Lakeshore Inn is the adjoining property, north of Manteo, next to Rotary Beach Park. The 46-room Inn, including lakeside pool and spa, was sold to the Rykon Group, owners of Manteo, by a Vancouver real estate investment company for an undisclosed amount. Rykon has no immediate plans for the property, but announced it has hired resort real estate specialist rareEarth Project Marketing to develop a luxury real estate opportunity. It is also working with the original architect of the Manteo Resort Hotel, Rob Ciccozzi of Vancouver.

It is in Kelowna’s downtown though that major changes are coming. New Downtown Kelowna Association executive director John Perrott is excited. “Over the last four years we have seen a huge number of people moving into the area. It started with residential developments on Sunset Drive, and now it is moving south.”

The Webster Group’s Cannery Lofts, which are now complete, have set the stage for further development. Since the Cannery Lofts went up, three other properties have been built in the area and more are in the planning stages. “People want to be able to walk to restaurants, museums, art galleries and live theatre,” explains Perrott. “They want to walk along the waterfront and enjoy everything that Kelowna has to offer.”

In addition to full time residents there is a market for people who are looking for secondary residences. These people are here part time, primarily for either summer fun or winter skiing.

Perrott says there are more advantages for the downtown than increased sales figures. “As you add on to the downtown residential core, you get a safety bonus as more and more people move in to the area. It is becoming more like the West End of Vancouver in that it is truly becoming a community. It is a residential neighbourhood, in the midst of a downtown commercial area. There is now opportunity for families to move in. Central Primary School is not open now, but it could be if the population demographics supported it.”

The Kelowna business community is trying to satisfy the needs of downtown residents. “There are companies opening up downtown now – that would not have been here five years ago when there weren’t many people living downtown,” says Perrott.

It’s not just new buildings, but new ways of attracting building and capital to the downtown core, something that Kelowna’s City council admits has been lacking in the past.

Kelowna City council recently announced they had instructed staff to prepare the paperwork for a comprehensive development zone to reflect the sharing of development rights and costs among all property owners in downtown Kelowna. Many months prior, Phil Milroy of Westcorp made a confidential deal with the city to contribute several hundred thousand dollars to hire Kaison Architecture of Vancouver to plan redevelopment of the four city blocks bounded by Harvey, Abbott, Queensway and Water. New provincial legislation allows multiple property owners to share – on a square-footage basis – the proceeds from redevelopment of such blocks.

In the first public announcement of the deal, acting city planner David Shipclark said the city will hold a workshop in early September to explain the concept to property owners and those leasing space downtown.

In mid-August the city formed a task force, whose members were briefed after they were sworn to secrecy. Coun. Norm Letnick said “It’s obviously an exciting project…even the roads and alleys are up for grabs.”

Further south in Osoyoos, summer is still generating a brisk business at the $75 million 4-star luxury Watermark Beach Resort. Boutique Hotels and Resorts of British Columbia, which is managing the resort, is now offering tourists nightly suite rentals, which is expected to add value for Watermark property owners. Another feature that the developers hope will attract renters and buyers is the designation of Watermark’s 1,000 feet of sandy beach front as “Kid Friendly”. Management says this means no boating will be permitted near or along the Watermark beach area, which will be clearly marked to protect swimming children.