Penticton council asked to approve $23M in housing, commercial space downtown
Penticton has plans to rezone part of downtown 1,500 housing units can be built at part of a new Innovation District.
City council is going to address a bylaw change at its meeting on Tuesday, March 5, that would allow for high-density housing, commercial and office spaces at 1704 Government St. across from Penticton Regional Hospital.
“This is an important step in what will result in a large increase of housing stock in a strategic area of the community, supporting the hospital and industrial employers," the city’s director of development services Blake Laven said in a press release.
"Staff have worked collaboratively with the developer to ensure there is the proper mix of uses, and that the development addresses impacts through select off-site requirements.”
Council will be asked to approve a host of upgrades for the area including redesigning and building new sidewalks, transportation lanes and a new transit stop.
READ MORE: $23 million deal for new builds in Penticton dubbed 'Innovation District'
The developer for the $23 million, 10-acre property is Stryke Group, which has plans to turn it into an Innovation District.
“The Innovation District will add housing, infrastructure, connectivity and economic improvements to an already vibrant community," Stryke’s managing director Rocky Sethi said in a letter to the city.
"The addition of a mixed-use development pairs well with the adjacency to the Penticton Regional Hospital and leans into the desire of the Official Community Plan to create inviting, human-scaled urban realms."
There are a few more steps after this council decision before the developer can start construction.
“If council gives the go-ahead, then we would work to enter legal agreements with the developer on the noted projects,” Laven said. “After those agreements are signed, then it would come back for final approval of the zoning changes.”
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