Are the days numbered for the Ogopogo Motel and RV Park?

Another old school Penticton original is up for sale. The Ogopogo Motel and Ogopogo RV Park, at 270 Riverside Drive, hit the market last week.

Indicative of the many motels that sprung up in Penticton in the 50s and 60s, the Ogopogo is a low-slung, one-level affair surrounded by shade trees. Many rooms have kitchen facilities, and a pool sits in the middle of the complex. An adjoining RV park features 30 sites.

At one time, the Ogopogo drew in the crowds. It's location, adjacent to the channel and just a five-minute walk to Okanagan Lake Beach, was a big part of its success over the decades.

Today, however, the motel/RV park is feeling its years and simply seems out of place in an area of change. Next door to the south is the modernistic Riverside Plaza outdoor shopping mall. Next door to the north, on the former site of the similarly designed, similarly sized Highland Motel and Park Royal RV Park, is the beginnings of a massive, upscale townhouse project called the Riverside.

This is also an important area to the city, which wants to see densification and renewal along the Riverside strip. In short, it would vastly prefer a chic multi-level residential complex than a small, aging motel.

And a scenario just like that seems to be in the cards. If a deal goes through, the asking price alone would seem to rule out the Ogopogo Motel's survival.

Listed at a cool $6 million, 270 Riverside Drive does not come cheap. Anyone dropping that sort of coin would be doing so to redevelop as soon as possible.

Chad Wozniak with Chamberlain Property Group is the listing agent for 270 Riverside, which is currently owned by a real estate consortium based in Vancouver.

"Six million gets you two lots with two road frontages, a motel as it is, an RV park as it is, with some revenue that wouldn't cover the cost of the land right now, and the planning in order to do a serious project. There's a lot of work that's gone into doing that endeavor, probably a quarter million dollars worth of effort."

Wozniak refers to the plans that are included with the 2.2-acre property. And not just any old plans. This is big time stuff, describing not one but two 15-storey towers housing 187 high rise units, 31 townhouse units (some of which are of the "live/work" variety), two levels of parking incorporated into the buildings, above-ground gardens, a greenway, a prominent central water feature, and assorted decks, patios, and roof terraces.

"The current owners," says Wozniak, "operate the motel and RV park with a property manager that handles the whole project as it is in Penticton on a day to day basis."

Wozniak indicated they've had good interest so far. "People are asking us about the property, and even asking if we know builders. And yes, I know some builders. We could connect them and they could just manage the property. A very ambitious effort."

"Most of the people asking about it so far are in partnerships, and they have to confer with their colleagues to come up with a game plan."

We asked Wozniak if he truly felt it was worth the somewhat staggering asking price.

"We did our comparables, and it's within a range that makes sense. We take into account that this comprehensive development plan has also been put together. There's not too many of them around."

"Another point in its favour is the city's willingness about having a project like this in this area to support the commercial amenities in the near proximity. This is a very specific property. There's no other property like it in town right now - of its size, of its location, of the willingness of the city to handle a project like this."

He also pointed to BC's speculation tax, which Penticton currently escapes. "With the speculation tax not being part of this area, eyeballs are focusing on our neighbourhoods more than other regions."

"I think it's a good thing for Penticton overall. I'd be honoured to be part of this next step."