The City of Kelowna bought this 1.8 acre property for $18 million.

Image Credit: Submitted/City of Kelowna

A 1.8-acre property bordering Mission Creek and Okanagan Lake has been bought by the City of Kelowna for $18 million.

It was assessed by BC Assessments at $5,698,000, with $258,000 of that being for a 1940s house on the site. That means the city paid more than triple the assessed value for the land.

“The acquisition of this property is truly a legacy for our city,” Mayor Tom Dyas said in a YouTube video released yesterday, Dec. 13. “It’s an important step to ensure that Kelowna’s beautiful waterfront can be enjoyed by all for generations to come.”

The video was followed by a news release today with the $18 million figure included.

Dyas said in the video the city bought the land from the Truswell family recently but didn’t say when. No information has been released on when the land will be developed into a park and or when there will be public access to the land.

The purchase will eventually allow access to a 400-foot city-owned boardwalk in front of Mission Shores Vacation Rentals and what is called Secret Beach.

The whole stretch of the waterfront from Mission Creek to the Cook Road boat launch, including the boardwalk, is closed to the public after the city installed a gate next to the boat launch.

READ MORE: City of Kelowna won court battle for public access to the waterfront, then blocks it off

Despite that, Dyas and the city news release promote the purchase as a link to other city parks.

“This parcel is a cornerstone in the city’s plan to create a series of destination beach parks linked together by a 31-kilometre unbroken chain of pathways and waterways,” Derek Edstrom, divisional director, partnerships and investments, for the city said in the news release. “The addition will expand water-based park and mooring destinations for the city’s 27-kilometre-long Paddle Trail, increase connectivity with downtown beach parks through links to Rotary Beach Park and Bluebird Beach Park.”

The property is at 3896 Truswell Road and may also allow for a direct connection to the Mission Creek Greenway.

The red arrow shows the Truswell property, next to what is actually Mission Creek.

Image Credit: Google Maps

There is already a park, Mission Creek Greenway, near Lakeshore Road and the Walnut Grove Motel, that borders the creek, is for sale for $12 million.

If that is sold and redeveloped, it could open up a direct connection along the creek to the Greenway.

READ MORE: Creekside Kelowna land, motel for sale for $12 million an acre

The Truswell property has 340 feet of lakeshore frontage and 220 feet along Mission Creek.

“In many ways this property has shaped the surrounding area,” Dyas said in the video. “Its position at the mouth of the creek influenced local agricultural developments and nearly 80 years ago the Truswell family, who recently sold the property to the city, planted willows, which very likely seeded many of the trees around the lake today.”

There is also an environmental component to the purchase, Derek Edstrom, the city’s partnerships and investments director, said in the video.

“The parcel is also an important environmental asset for the city,” he said. “Mission Creek is a key contributor to Okanagan Lake’s water quality and quantity. A city-owned control and access point will be invaluable for flood protection, sediment control planning and habitat restoration activities in the area.”

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