The empty field at 2025 Springfield Road in the middle of Kelowna.

Image Credit: GOOGLE STREET VIEW

It seems a bit odd at first glance, a massive empty property in a prime location in Kelowna. The city is growing rapidly and the need to fit more people into less space comes up often, so why is there a huge chunk of land that isn’t being used?

There are two side-by-side lots near Orchard Park Mall between 2025 Springfield Road and 2120 Cooper Road that are currently sitting vacant making a good motel for marmots.

The land hasn’t been developed because it’s zoned as Agriculture Land Reserve, or ALR, and it’s owned by a big developer rather than a farmer.

The City of Kelowna’s planning director Ryan Smith said it’s nearly impossible for a private developer to change land from ALR to housing or retail.

“You essentially can't really anymore. Like the municipality would have to be the applicant on it. So the City of Kelowna would have to be willing to apply on private land,” he told iNFOnews.ca. “We already have enough challenges, we have future infrastructure needs that are in the ALR as well. So helping private landowners by applying on their behalf could potentially compromise community interests.”

Smith said the properties are owned by McIntosh Properties, which is owned by the Bennett family. W.A.C. Bennett was the premier of B.C. and his sons own McIntosh which has a significant amount of land in the Okanagan.

There was an application to develop the land into mixed-use residential and retail in 2013 but it never made it past the Agricultural Land Commission that’s in charge of ALR zoning, he said, adding there isn’t much prospect of anything happening with the land.

“With the previous (Agricultural Land Commission) response, they've gotten even more restrictive since then,” he said. “It could be farmed. There's nothing stopping them.”

The property values for 2025 Springfield Road and 2120 Cooper Road have been increasing pretty rapidly, despite their vacancy.

In 2024, the value of property at 2025 Springfield Road was $1.89 million and in 2025 it’s worth $2.1 million. In 2024, the lot at 2120 Cooper Road was worth $3.5 million and in 2025 the value went up to $3.85 million. Added together the property value increase is $539,000 in one year.

Since the land is in the ALR the city can’t even turn it into a park. In Kelowna, roughly 40 per cent of the land is designated ALR.

Smith said that cases like this might frustrate people since land in the middle of the city isn’t getting used, but the ALR makes Kelowna what it is since it blends the urban parts of the city with farmland.

“I don't think it's perfect, but I think that's part of what gives Kelowna its charm. And yes, I think that it frustrates people, but it also creates a great city and really helps keep the city livable in my mind,” he said.

McIntosh Properties did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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