Westminster Avenue and Martin Street will undergo construction as part of the city's revitalization plan.
(MEAGHAN ARCHER / iNFOnews.ca)
February 19, 2014 - 3:53 PM
PENTICTON - The Penticton Downtown Revitalization Process kicked off today, Wednesday Feb. 19, and this time the city has the support of local businesses.
Mayor Garry Litke was concerned businesses wouldn't agree to pay a portion of the costs, as outlined in the plan. Local landowners — many owning businesses in the downtown core — opposed the last revitalization plan in 2006, causing the plan to fail.
A petition was circulated in summer 2013 and received 63 per cent approval from local landowners to go ahead with the plan. Landowners, many of whom are local business owners in the downtown core, are responsible for paying 25 per cent of surface costs. This includes any construction, furniture or other improvements between the curb and storefront.
The first phase of the plan includes repaving and upgrading Westminster Avenue and Martin Street in downtown Penticton. This section was chosen to undergo construction first to give businesses a sense of what the revitalization will look like when fully completed, said Mayor Garry Litke.
Phase one, which will be underway later this week, has a $1.25 million budget. Phase two of the plan has not yet been determined, but city staff expect business owners will not have to pay until 2015.
To contact the reporter for this story, e-mail Meaghan Archer at marcher@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065 or tweet @meaghanarcher.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014