'A really exciting project': Kelowna council supports 59 rentals near KGH

A purpose-built rental project meant to fill a void in housing for people working at Kelowna General Hospital has been supported and moved forward by Kelowna council.

During the Tuesday evening meeting, council agreed to issue a development permit for a 59-unit project proposed for 2275 and 2283 Pandosy Street.

A representative from Argus Properties told city council that this project would provide a great benefit to the neighbourhood and community.

“It addresses a critical shortage of shortage for healthcare professionals, nurses, doctors, researchers and families who require extended stays (at KGH),” the representative said.

“It enhances the streetscape and brings a new restaurant and coffee shop to the neighbourhood. It’ll be a great space for residents, KGH staff and visitor to enjoy.”

Council was told that the BC Cancer Foundation has provided “strong support” for the project.

The project has also received support from UBC Okanagan and the hospital.

There will be 31 bachelors units, 28 one-bedrooms, two small commercial units, 10 parking spaces and 60 bike stalls.

Staff point out that this proposal is in a provincially designated Transit Oriented Area, which means residential parking is not required.

The developer said they will be working with a car-share provider as well as BC Transit for opportunities to provide bus passes to future tenants.Coub. Webber asked how the parking situation would be handled.

“Its not often since I’ve been on council that we’ve seen a proposal come forward with no parking. What’s the thought process? It’s already kind of a crowded area,” he asked staff.

Staff said there will be a property manager for intake and a bulk of the tenants would already be working at KGH and would not have vehicles. Staff added that some prospective tenants could already have designated parking at the hospital.

Five variances were being requested, all of which staff said were "minimal."

That includes reducing the setback on the north, west and south property lines to allow for an “urban centre style” project built at the property line. The developer was also looking to reduce the building’s step back on the side and front yards, which staff say is not expected to impact the amount of sunlight to the public realm.

Ultimately, city councillors had no issues with the variances and supported the project.

Coun. Wooldridge said this was “a really exciting project” coming forward.

“Not only is the form (and character) really strong, I think it fits the area really well,” he said.

“Seeing this located right next to the KGH campus makes complete sense (...) I’m also quite pleased to see the mixed-use concept at the street level just to bring more activation, I do think that’s missing in the Pandosy area.”

Coun. Stack shared similar sentiments.

“I’m quite interested about this because I’ve been a little nervous about (the) very small amount of parking on some of these developments but this is a perfect opportunity because this is fully legal and fully meets the objectives that were set out by the province,” he said. “I think it's a great opportunity.”

Coun. Cannan said it would be an interesting to see the province’s new rules tested out in Kelowna but said it would "beautify" that corner.