Site of prison originally planned for Kelowna could soon be an industrial subdivision

KELOWNA – A site in north Kelowna once touted as a location for a new Interior prison could now see new life as an industrial subdivision.

On Monday city council approved an amendment to the Official Community Plan and the rezoning application allowing for an industrial subdivision on the site at 200 Potterton Rd.

The site is owned by the provincial government’s B.C. Building Corporation, which is seeking to sell the property to Roth Enterprises Ltd. The company plans to subdivide the property into eight smaller serviced parcels.

In the late 1990s the property was rezoned for instutional use in anticipation of its development as a provincial jail. While the site is in Kelowna, it borders on Lake Country in the city’s north industrial area.

The plan encountered strong opposition from Lake Country residents and politicians, who played a role in the province eventually choosing to locate the prison near Oliver on Osooyoos Indian Band reserve land in 2012.

Opening of the $190-million Okanagan Correctional Centre is slated for late in 2016, with 240 correctional officers set to oversee an average of 500 inmates in 378 cells.

City council approved the plan amendment and zoning change on recommendation of staff.

%%embed1%%

To contact a reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.