Two highrise towers planned for landmark Kelowna church site on Highway 97
The New Life Church on Highway 97 near Orchard Park mall in Kelowna is in the process of being sold.
The deal is expected to close around March 20 but tenants were informed of the sale yesterday, March 6, and a news release was issued today by the church and new owner Impact Upstream Ventures Inc.
“We put this news out because there’s an impact on the existing tenants,” Upstream president Al Hildebrandt told iNFOnews.ca. “They will be there to the end of the year, minimum, to make way, once our plans are set, for the rebuild. We have no choice but to take down the entire building.”
Likely the best know tenant is the Woodfire Bakery, which was the first commercial tenant in the building after it was taken over by New Life Church in about 1993. Hildebrandt is hopeful that it will be able to return to the site once the project is complete.
Plans for what will be called Vitae Village are just in the conceptual stage right now and more details will be coming out after the sale is completed, he said.
“We’ve got some renderings but those are just artists’ conceptions because the planning starts when you know you’ve got the property,” Hildebrandt said. “It will include two different towers. We know the current Official Community Plan allows us to go up to 17 storeys in that area with the current zoning.”
He expects there to be at least one storey of underground parking for the towers and there could be two storeys of commercial space, much of which is likely to be used by the church.
“We want to invite a diverse community to make Vitae Village their home and still be mindful of the affordability gap in our city,” the news release says.
New Life Church will have a central role in the new building.
“The globe has changed, and so has the church world,” Matti Koopman, senior leader of New Life Church said in the news release. “The pandemic exposed the fragility of traditional models of church. We recognized we needed to adapt and change.
“Today, people want to be a part of something bigger than themselves which positively impacts the world rather than just how many programs we have on a Sunday. The heart of what church is about is bringing life and health to individuals and our communities. We are excited about partnering in this pioneering opportunity to be good neighbours and invite others to live, work, learn and serve together.”
The church now occupies about 30,000 square feet out of the buildings’ more than 40,000 square feet. There are about 10 commercial tenants, Hildebrandt said. It covers 2.76 acres between Barlee and Vasilie roads next to Orchard Plaza.
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It was built in 1986 by Okanagan Valley Fruit Stands and was later leased to Okanagan College for a couple of years before New Life Church bought it, Hildebrandt said.
“Kelowna’s downtown has an innovation space for the tech industry,” the news release says. “In the ‘mid-town’ of Kelowna, we will be developing a family-friendly ‘village’ with homes, eateries, a co-working space for social innovators and agencies seeking to make our community a safer, healthier place to live. And the New Life Church family is looking to be central to that vision.”
The church space is expected to have “all-week availability by multiple groups like schools, non-profits and individuals,” the news release says. “Residential units will be a combination of for sale and rental units.”
The land doesn’t need to be rezoned but a development permit will be required. Hildebrandt expects the building will be demolished early next year as work starts on the underground parkade.
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