The imagined mid-station of Okanagan Gondola
Image Credit: OBTAINED/Okanagan Gondola
October 23, 2023 - 2:37 PM
The Okanagan Gondola project is one step closer to approval.
The project got its third reading Oct. 18 meaning the developer can being getting building permits to move it forward.
“We received the third reading and our project was approved; it was super exciting for us,” said Rav Soomal from Ridge North America the developers and owners of the project. “Our goal is to start some level of construction in the spring and summer of 2024, roll through the winter of 2024 and be open for the 2025 season, the goal is mid-May.”
The Gondola will be near the Predator Ridge turnoff on Highway 97 between Vernon and Kelowna. The ride up to the mid-station will offer a view of the Thompson Mountains and the Kalamalka Lake.
“We want to celebrate nature and beauty, we try to have a very minimal impact on the land as we can have. The entire point is to showcase the beauty of the Okanagan Valley,” said Soomal.
Imagined gondola station for Okanagan Gondola
Image Credit: OBTAINED/Okanagan Gondola
The project will also have loads of amenities such as farmers' markets, a treetop challenge course, a 1.2 km trail in the surrounding area, a venue for events, a space for light shows, and more.
He says he wants to bring some family-friendly entertainment back to the Okanagan.
“Over the past couple decades, the region has seen a number of very prominent family-friendly establishments and businesses close and this will be one of the very first new major family-friendly oriented businesses to come through the area,” Soomal says. “We want to create an all-inclusive type of attraction where families can bring their young kids as well as their grandparents and we hope to replace all the family-friendly businesses that have closed in the past decades.”
Ridge North America, the developers and owners of the project, are also behind the Golden Skybridge, in Golden. This project had similar goals and the Okanagan Gondola project is expected to have the same impacts.
“The Golden Skybridge project was highly successful and very transformative to the town and the region, a really great family-friendly project and we hope to replicate that with the Okanagan Gondola project,” says Soomal.
The project which hopes to be available to the public by the Spring of 2025 is estimated to cost $50 million.
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