Council is being asked to make a change to the Official Community Plan that would set the stage for one of the most significant development ever proposed in Penticton.
“A Council priority is the creation of attainable and affordable housing and this proposal would increase Penticton’s housing stock significantly,” says Blake Laven, the City of Penticton’s director of development services. “The next step, if council supports it, is a public engagement process on the proposed OCP change.”
Council will receive a report on the project, located at 1704 Government Street, at the June 20th meeting for consideration.
The proposal, titled Penticton Health and Innovation District by the developer, envisions a community hub for residential, retail and live-work housing for staff at Penticton Regional Hospital. The property is located across Government Street from the Penticton Regional Hospital. It has been used as an industrial property and was recently used for manufactured home and trailer operation.
If approved, the proposal would allow the building of between 1,200 and 1,500 multifamily apartments, split between strata and rental tenures. Retail and office spaces are proposed as well, envisioning approximately 200 jobs on the site at full build-out. Given the scale of the development, it would be built in phases over several years.
The application is to change the Official Community Plan future land use designation for 1704 Government Street from “Industrial” to “Mixed Use” to facilitate the proposed development. The proposal is in its early stages, and more details will be refined through future applications including rezoning, subdivision, and development permit.
Dates, times and locations for planned engagement events will be advertised following Council’s direction to proceed with the public engagement for this proposed development.