The view of Kelowna high-rises from the Tolko site.

Image Credit: Submitted/City of Kelowna/Laura Bentley

Kelowna councillors got to see their city from a perspective that very few have ever enjoyed as they toured the Tolko Industries lands at the north end of downtown.

Site of a lumber mill of one sort or another for more than 100 years, many of its buildings are now demolished and a planning process is underway to determine the future of the 40-acre waterfront property that’s bounded by Sutherland Bay and Knox Mountain to the north and the highrise district along Sunset Drive to the south.

READ MORE: Changing times: Tolko closure marks the end of a way of life, says local historian

The view of Knox Mountain and Sutherland Bay from the Tolko mill site.

Image Credit: Submitted/City of Kelowna/Laura Bentley

The hour-long tour was filmed by deputy city clerk Laura Bentley and provided views of the city and across Okanagan Lake that few have been able to see over the years but will be opened up, eventually, to the public.

While the visuals were good, the audio portion was limited, with speakers often turning away from the camera causing their words to be lost.

The tour guide, who is not identified on the video, talked about the team hired by Tolko to plan the redevelopment of the site. He talked about some big picture ideas.

“One of them is to recognize the heritage of the site, going back many hundreds of years,” he said, noting in later years it was used for agriculture then forestry.

Some buildings remain on the site, like a welding and machine shop, so some of that heritage could be retained in any future development, similar to Granville Island in Vancouver.

The Welding and Machine shops could add a Granville Island flavour to the Tolko site.

Image Credit: Submitted/City of Kelowna/Laura Bentley

He talked about having a variety of housing styles on the site with people using transit or other non-automotive ways to travel to and from the area.

There is still a Tolko tugboat on site and some large buildings remain intact.

This tugboat and buildings may become part of the future Tolko site.

Image Credit: Submitted/City of Kelowna/Laura Bentley

Tolko stored logs on both the west side of Okanagan Lake near Bear Creek Provincial Park, and in the waters of Sutherland Bay.

The boom in Sutherland Bay remains in place, largely to keep people from trespassing on the site.

Since the lands include extensive stretches of beachfront, the plan is to have a “community interactive, fun waterfront,” the tour guide said, a place where families can enjoy the natural environment.

The view to the north with Knox Mountain on the right.

Image Credit: Submitted/City of Kelowna/Laura Bentley

An environmental evaluation of the land, was initially supposed to completed in February 2021. That was extended to February of this year and has been moved forward again because some lubricating oil was found on site so more testing had to be done.

In December, the Mission Group bought the neighbouring B.C. Tree Fruits site for $24 million. It covers almost four acres at the corner of Bay Avenue and Ellis Street.

READ MORE: $24M sale of Kelowna waterfront property will trigger hundreds of millions in economic impact

The Tolko site planners hope to have some preliminary visions of what the final project may look like in the next month or two. That plan is part of a planning process for the entire North End of downtown Kelowna that isn’t expected to be complete until next year.

The video of the Kelowna city council tour of the Tolko Industries property on Okanagan Lake can be seen here.

Looking towards West Kelowna.

Image Credit: Submitted/City of Kelowna/Laura Bentley

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