The old Kelowna Courier building on Water Street, as seen during demolition in 2021.
(KATHY MICHAELS / iNFOnews.ca)
May 23, 2024 - 6:00 PM
Plans for an unique wine-themed 12-storey hotel in downtown Kelowna has been scrapped.
Mark Anthony Group Inc. tore down historic buildings on Water Street on the promise of building the large hotel, but instead will simply replace them with a building just two storeys taller.
They tore down the original 1908 Kelowna Courier building and a 1910 building that was originally a Chinese restaurant but was most recently The Keg restaurant. You can still see the facade, held up and bolstered by steel supports, as it has been for the last three years.
Instead of the hotel, Mark Anthony Group now wants to build a four-storey commercial building that could include a restaurant, wine tasting room, wine shop, distillery or a residential suite.
A letter from the owner’s builder says they were trying to fulfil an agreement with the city to get on with its work, but had to concede to changes.
“We have come to realize that our initial vision was overly ambitious for the given site due to unforeseen circumstances that only became apparent during this application process,” Slava Korshunov of Vines & Rebar Construction Management Ltd said.
“As a result, we had to pivot our development idea in order to keep our promise to expedite our build.”
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