It hasn't been easy building what will eventually become Kelowna's tallest building.
But, there is activity at the construction site where the 43-storey UBC Okanagan vertical campus will rise downtown at the corner of Doyle Avenue and St. Paul Street.
"Construction on the UBCO downtown project is ongoing with piling work taking place currently," UBCO director of public affairs Nathan Skoloski told KelownaNow in an email.
"Piling is a common foundation construction technique that inserts long, slender columns into the group to help support the load of the building."
Piling is necessary because downtown Kelowna's ground is soft with a high water table.
Despite setbacks, delays and some controversy, the UBC Properties Trust is still optimistic the skyscraper can be completed by the fall of 2027.
Initially, there was some talk the tower could be finished in 2026, but that timeline has been scrapped.
In November of 2023, site preparation started in earnest digging down four storeys for the underground parking.
Other downtown highrises have opted for above-ground parkades due to the soft ground and high water table.
By March 2024, the excavation for the UBCO underground parking was halted when structural cracks appeared in three neighbouring buildings -- the subsidized rent, low-rise Hadgraft Wilson Place 84-unit apartment building, the Kelowna branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and the co-working space Okanagan CoLab.
Residents were moved out of Hadgraft and the Legion and CoLab buildings were abandoned.
Site preparation did resume again slowly in April 2024, partially filling in the underground parking hole and settling on a two-level underground parkade.
"Hourly monitoring of soil movement will continue and all data indicate that conditions remain stable," said Skoloski.
"The data is being monitored and reviewed by UBC's engineering teams and UBC is and will continue to follow the advice of its engineers as this work continues."
In the summer, UBC provided $12,000 to each household displaced from Hadgraft, who are being housed temporarily at a number of places around the city.
"We are optimistic for the future of Hadgraft and its place in the community," said Skolski.
"And we remain committed to working with the City of Kelowna, BC Housing and the residents' legal representation to resolve these issues and assist with the safe and swift return of tenants to the building."
No precise timeline has been set for tenants' return.
The two other buildings damaged -- the Legion and CoLab -- will be demolished.
UBC purchased the Legion building at 1380 Bertram St. in the summer.
The Legion is now using the Kelowna Canadian Italian Club when it needs space.
The Legion has also bought the building at 1317 Ethel St. at the corner of Wilson Avenue (a former church and most recently a daycare) and is renovating it to move into in the spring.
UBC has not purchased CoLab, which is at 1405 St. Paul St., right across the street from the UBC construction site.
However, UBC is temporarily leasing the property through an agreement with Kerkhoff Develop-Build, which plans to ultimately construct a 36-storey condominium tower on the CoLab site.
UBC will use the land as a staging area for construction materials and equipment as the vertical campus goes up.
The 43-storey UBCO tower will not only be significant as the tallest building in the city, beating out the 42-storey Eli condo skyscraper that's part of the Water Street by the Park development downtown at the corner of Water Street and Leon Avenue.
The UBCO highrise will also anchor the downtown satellite to the university's main campus 10 kilometres away near Kelowna International Airport.
The ground floor of the 43-storey tower will have retail, restaurant and cafe space along with an art gallery and atrium gathering and meeting places.
There will be eight floors of academic space for the schools of nursing and social work and the upper floors will house 508 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom rental apartments for students, faculty, staff and the wider community.
The skyscraper is also designed to be an innovative landmark with a unique three-sided floorplan and exterior 'fins' to keep the building cool in summer and warm in winter to be as energy efficient as possible.
Mission Group is also set to build a 40-storey rental apartment tower just north of the UBCO vertical campus on St. Paul Street.
