The B.C. Tree Fruits building in downtown Kelowna was sold for $2.3 million above the asking price.
(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)
December 04, 2020 - 2:00 PM
B.C. Tree Fruits Cooperative has sold its building on prime downtown Kelowna real estate for $2.3 million more than the asking price.
The building was put up for sale in September with an asking price of $5.2 million. A confirmed agreement for sale was reached this week with an undisclosed buyer for $7.5 million.
Even before it went on sale, Warren Sarafinchan, CEO of B.C. Tree Fruits, was fielding a lot of calls from prospective buyers.
“We’re very pleased by the results of the sale,” Sarafinchan said. “Having some extra money is important for the cooperative.”
It will take some time to determine what’s going to be done with that money.
“We’re looking at a number of options,” Sarafinchan said. “There’s options to pay down debt. There’s options around investment. We’ll figure out our plan in the upcoming weeks and months.”
Sarafinchan became CEO of the cooperative in September 2019 and quickly developed a restructuring plan the resulted in staff at the downtown office relocating to facilities in Lake Country and on Sexsmith Road, making the downtown office redundant.
“This is an example of how the cooperative is working very differently than we did in the past,” he said.
READ MORE: Buyers are clamouring for this historic downtown Kelowna building
The 0.275 acres of land at 1473 Water St., across Queensway from City Hall, is zoned for a high-rise development up to 29 storeys.
The building is listed on the City’s heritage registry but that does not offer it protection from demolition.
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