Kelowna’s highrise skyline reaching 1,000 storeys and spreading out
In 1976, Kelowna’s first 'highrise' — the 12-storey Kiwanis Tower — opened near the corner of Gordon Drive and Bernard Avenue.
Four or five years later, the 13-storey Executive House opened near Richter Street and Highway 97, also slightly outside the downtown core.
It took more than a decade for the next highrises to hit the skies of the city but the pace has picked up dramatically since then and now has roughly 1,000 storeys in highrises built, on the books or proposed.
As of today, 22 buildings with more than 10 storeys each provide Kelowna with roughly 404 storeys of highrise towers.
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The total number of storeys will pass the 600 mark once the 10 highrises currently under construction, with about 206 storeys, are finished. Another 139 storeys in five buildings have been approved but construction has yet to begin.
Those include the 43-storey UBCO vertical campus and the 33-storey Westcorp Hotel.
Another 11 towers with more than 300 storeys are proposed, bringing the current potential to more than 1,000 storeys in 48 towers.
While most of those are in the downtown core, Aqua, Movella and Ledge on Lakeshore are currently under construction and pushing heights up to 17 storeys in the Mission area. Two towers, of 14 and 15 storeys, are proposed between Orchard Park shopping centre and Costco.
Kelowna’s tallest completed buildings
Storeys
- 36 – One Water Tower One
- 29 – One Water Tower Two
- 26 – Skye at Waterscapes
- 26 – Brooklyn
- 23 – Landmark 7
- 22 – Discovery Pointe Resort
- 21 – 1151 Sunset Drive
- 20 – Ella
- 18 – Landmark 6
- 17 – Park Place
- 17 – Lagoons
- 17 – Centuria
- 16 – The Dolphins
- 15 – The Madison
- 14 – Sopa Square
- 14 – Ellis Parc
- 14 – Invue Sky
- 13 – Kiwanis Tower
- 13 – Executive House
- 11 – Sandman Hotel
- 11 – Landmark 2
- 11 – The Lofts
Under Construction
Storeys
- 42 – Water Street by the Park
- 34 – Bertram
- 28 – Water Street by the Park
- 17 – Ledge on Lakeshore
- 17 – Aqua Tower 2
- 16 – The Block
- 15 – Aqua Tower 1
- 14 – Movala Tower 1
- 13 – Aqua Tower 3
- 10 – Movala Tower 2
Approved
Storeys
- 43 – UBCO
- 33 – Westcorp Hotel
- 24 – Water Street by the Park
- 20 – BC Housing on Bertram
- 19 – 1333 Bertram
Proposed
Storeys
- 40 – Bridgewater
- 36 – Waterscapes Tower 1
- 36 – One Varsity
- 34 – Waterscapes Tower 2
- 34 – 346 Lawrence
- 32 – Waterscapes Tower 3
- 28 – Waterscapes Tower 4
- 25 – 360 Doyle
- 15 – 1200 Pacific
- 15 – 1930 Underhill Tower 1
- 14 - 1930 Underhill Tower 2
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