32-storey hotel and luxury tower proposed for Kelowna skyline
Kelowna Daily Courier
The Province
Revised plans for a major hotel in downtown Kelowna now show a taller tower and the inclusion of 49 luxury residences.
The hotel at the base of Queensway is now planned to rise to 32 storeys, instead of 24, with the private homes on the upper floors.
“The hotel, and the stunning homes that will accompany it, will bring a presence and grace to the waterfront that will compete on the world stage,” Phil Milroy, chief executive officer of Westcorp, said in a release issued by the firm on Wednesday.
Other changes made to the original plans include a restaurant on the 16th floor, putting all parking underground, and shifting the tower toward Water Street and away from the waterfront.
“We are really quite thrilled with where the design has evolved to, and we hope the public and council will agree so that we can get underway,” said Gail Temple, Westcorp’s vice-president of operations.
A conference centre, retail premises and restaurant adjacent to Kerry Park are all still part of the revised plans.
Company officials say they’ll submit a development-permit application to the city soon for the new-look hotel. A hotel for the site was approved by city council in July 2014, but Westcorp continually pushed back the start of construction.
On Wednesday, the company said plans were revised in part to reflect market demand for new downtown homes. As well, original plans envisioned a central podium containing a large parkade, something the company said proved to a “significant constraint” to the design of the building.
The hotel’s redesign was overseen by GCA Architects from Barcelona. “They have designed 180 luxury hotels worldwide and (bring) a global perspective to the project,” Westcorp’s release says.
New plans indicate 174 hotel rooms, rather than the 214 that were originally proposed. The general shape of the tower is still elliptical, as it was shown to be in the 2014 drawings.
The tower will be capped with a “glowing-beacon structure that will locate this downtown landmark on the night skyline,” the company’s news release says.
Having a restaurant on the 16th floor, Westcorp says, “will provide a new and interesting public space in our city”, the release says.
“We expect this new sky restaurant to become a must-see destination in Kelowna,” Temple said.
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