'Excited about infrastructure': City manager says significant projects are on the way for Kelowna

Kelowna city manager Doug Gilchrist sat down with KelownaNow this week to talk about the happenings at city hall including rental progress and some upcoming major infrastructure projects.

City council recently approved a 40-storey rental only building, something Gilchrist said will be a “complimentary” addition to the downtown area.

The new building will be going up north of the downtown UBCO tower. KelownaNow asked how that major project was progressing.

“They're making significant progress on what has been obviously a very challenging site,” he said. “They're in the ground stabilizing the site and we should see that come out of the ground next year.”

Those two buildings will be providing 857 rental units, although there are many other projects circulating the city’s planning department, and KelownaNow asked how the city’s vacancy rate was sitting.

“It's definitely softened on the rental market, which I think is great for sure,” Gilchrist told KelownaNow. “I think we're moving towards a more balanced place and one that we haven't been in for quite some time.”

Overall, Gilchrist said the city was in a good place on the housing front but said he was most excited about upcoming infrastructure projects that are set to begin as early as next year.

He explained that the last council was a "policy council” and focused on the Official Community Plan, the Transportation Master Plan and other major documents that will guide the city.

He said this council, which is in its second year, is more focused on infrastructure delivery.

“The multimodal pathways, new buildings, new recreation facilities are going to be absolutely significant for us in the next few years,” he said, pointing to the major redevelopment of Parkinson Recreation Centre.

He also pointed to improvements to the Rutland Sports Fields as well as the construction of activity centres in the Glenmore and Mission neighbourhoods.

“I would say the most significant bundle of assets that we've ever built at one time,” he added.

With infrastructure in mind and hundreds of rental units coming online, KelownaNow asked about roads and parking.

Gilchrist said it is the hope that parking will be dealt with by each developer but said the city was “well positioned” when it came time to build parkades downtown.

He added that it is the city’s hope to really advance major road improvements like the Clement Avenue extension, which would run from Glenmore Road ultimately all the way to UBC, and the development of the Rail Trail corridor.

“In the next two years we're going to see some really significant investment in roads and multimodal transportation,” Gilchrist told KelownaNow.

“We're going to be doubling the amount of transportation infrastructure we put in the ground annually. Next year will be the first round of delivering on that bundle of roads.”

He said that will include working on unfinished networks, like the Burtch Road extension, the Clement Avenue extension and the Frost Road connection, and closing the loop on those.

KelownaNow asked about the potential of a second bridge across Okanagan Lake, something that has been suggested numerous times from the public and even provincial politicians.

“I think that the next important step is adding a lane to the bridge (...) adding a lane to the bridge is not only important, but it's been designed for that,” he noted. “I think that would happen far in advance of another crossing.”

To end off the year the city will be going through the annual budget review which Gilchrist said begins Thursday, Dec. 5.

Although he could not give a hint at the tax rate increase for 2025, he said residents can expect a low increase, something he attributed to the city being “very fiscally well managed.”

“I will say you'll find Kelowna as we have been for many years at the very low end of tax increases anywhere in the province, if not the lowest you know,” Gilchrist.

“I’m really excited about the team we have internally. I think we have the strongest leadership team and management team that I’ve seen in many, many years.”