New neighbourhood envisioned for Kelowna’s Capri Mall site

KELOWNA – A brand new neighbourhood could eventually rise on the site of the Capri Centre Mall.

A proposal by RG Properties Ltd. — owner of Prospera Place — to develop the site at Gordon Drive would see a huge residental component added to the current mix of retail, hospitality and commercial space.

If fully realized, as many as 15 buildings could go up on the high-profile site, from six-storey residential buildings along Harvey Avenue to the tallest at 26 storeys anchoring the centre of the development.

In exchange for more floors — originally only 12 storeys in that area — the developer has agreed to devote more of the ground level to public amenties such as pedestrian walkways, green spaces and a small public square that will double as a skating rink.

Plans are to build the project in stages, with no set time frame, making it necessary to designate the site as a comprehensive development zone.

Essentially a master plan, the CD25 zone, as it is known, governs the form and character of the development and requires the developer to secure development permits for each stage.

What the developer promises is a new neighbourhood which retains the commercial aspect but adds 157,520 square metres of new residential floor space and 22,300 square metres of commercial space.

Mayor Colin Basran, in voting for the CD25 zone, said the Capri Mall site — which used to be on the outskirts of Kelowna — has the potential to be 'a beacon in our community'.

“This is everything we as a council have been looking for. It is really indicative of where we are going in our community. I’m really looking forward to seeing this come to fruition,” Basran said.

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.