Holar Developments Ltd., the company that will manage the planning and redevelopment process for the former TOLKO site, has announced that it has retained Vancouver-based planner DIALOG to lead a community consultation and planning program that will result in a new vision for the 40-acre Kelowna property.
The announcement comes with the City of Kelowna’s decision to move forward with a neighbourhood planning process for the North End that will also establish a framework for the Mill Site Redevelopment Plan.
DIALOG is an integrated, multi-disciplinary design practice with studios across Canada and the United States. DIALOG has decades of experience of planning and collaboration with communities to create extraordinary places and will be working with Holar’s Kelowna-based team. Examples of their awardwinning work include the Ladysmith Waterfront Area Plan, NK’MIP Desert Cultural Centre and Granville Island. Dan Walsh, a former senior executive with the Grosvenor International Group and a current director of UBC Properties Trust, is leading the Holar Developments team.
“We think this is a really unique opportunity for Kelowna”, says Walsh, “It’s a significant waterfront site, in the heart of the community with owners who are committed to continuing the transition from an industrial past to a future destination, waterfront neighbourhood.”
Over the past two years, TOLKO has been engaged in an orderly decommissioning program for the Mill Site lands and, more recently, has been involved in preliminary discussions with the City of Kelowna about redevelopment of the property.
The recently announced City-led process for updating the North End Neighbourhood Plan is being launched before Holar makes an application to start work on the Mill Site Redevelopment Plan. The two consultation and planning processes will overlap, with the City’s process taking the lead. The Mill Site plan will be informed by the community’s vision and aspirations for the North End.
“We are all enthusiastic about working with the community to determine what the redevelopment options can be” adds Walsh, “and the public can look forward to learning more about the opportunities to participate in the weeks to come”.