Legacy group's ethics challenged by developer of former Kelowna RCMP site
The company's behind the plan to redevelop the former RCMP detachment site in downtown Kelowna have issued a rebuttal to opponents of the plan.
The Kelowna Legacy Group challenged the ethics of the project accusing Appelt Properties and its’ partner Wexford Developments of pulling a bait and switch on the public by asking the city to allow them to build a much taller building on the site.
The developers accuse the legacy group of misleading statements in a media release issued today, June 2.
READ MORE: Legacy group calls for investigation into 'bait and switch' on former RCMP site
The initial request for proposals from the city included the stipulation the tower not be more than 13 storeys tall at 350 Doyle Ave. site. The developers are now asking to build a 25-storey highrise.
"The Kelowna Legacy Group is raising questions as to whether mayor and council were fooled by the bait and switch, or whether they were aware that this was going to happen when the bidder won the initial request for proposals," a news release issued on May 31 by the legacy group said.
The developers have responded saying the building’s design only changed as a response to public engagement.
READ MORE: Development of the former RCMP site in downtown Kelowna moving ahead with RISE
Consultation was “robust,” Appelt Properties president Greg Appelt said in the release. There were 14 in-person meetings and an online community open house that was “widely advertised.”
The developer’s webpage for the project was visited by 851 people and 117 of them provided “thoughtful feedback,” the release said. It said “much” of feedback was in support of the plan.
But the feedback also indicated a “clear concern about the design of the building,” Appelt said. “Given the community input… we reluctantly recognized that a redesign would be necessary for the community to fully embrace the project.”
The developers said they have been working with the city over the past six months to address design concerns, at the cost of “significant additional time and money.”
READ MORE: Controversial downtown Kelowna highrise looking to cast widest shadow in town
The updated proposal does a better job protecting views and reducing shadows and variances will be required to allow for the new height and reduced setbacks.
“The unanticipated redesign process has cost several hundred thousand dollars and the project has been substantially delayed – within an environment of increasing construction costs – hardly an ideal planning scenario," the release from the developers read.
The original plan was to build 316 units, but the redesign will reduce the number of units by 59.
Appelt disputed the claim the units will be luxury high-end apartments, and says the building will offer a range of sizes and prices.
“(Les Bellamy) is the spokesperson for an anonymous special interest group with unclear intentions. If he and (Kelowna Legacy Group) members genuinely suffer from a lack of understanding of the application and the results of our consultation, we invite him to engage with us directly because we believe it represents positive outcome to the community engagement process," Applet said.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Dan Walton or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
