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Kelowna council okays build out of Conservatory site in Glenmore

Plan to fill in land around residential building at Glenmore and Summit Drives moving ahead
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contributed An artist’s rendition shows what the land around the Conservatory, at Glenmore and Summit, will look like once it is built out with the six new residential buildings and greenspace.

A plan to fill in the land around the Conservatory residential building at the corner of Glenmore Drive and Summit Drive in Kelowna is moving ahead.

City council has agreed to issue a development permit to add six new residential buildings to the site.

The new development would add as many as 500 more housing units to the property, home of the existing Conservatory residential tower, an as-of-yet un-built extension slated to start construction in the spring and a small commercial development at the Glenmore and Summit intersection.

The newly approved buildings would be a mixture of two residential apartment towers, two townhouse complexes, a seniors building and a sixth building that details have not been released about.

The site will include green space and is close to nearby parks, transit and amenities.

Earlier this week council was told by city staff the new buildings would be built in phases, but no timeline has yet been announced.

Council liked what it saw for the property, with Mayor Colin Basran saying it appears to fit in with what is already there.

He noted further approvals from the city will be needed and the public will have the opportunity for input.

“But it’s certainly very supportable moving forward,” said Basran.

The Conservatory tower was first envisioned in the late 1990s and was to be the tallest building in the city.

But repeated attempts to build it fell through as financing proved difficult for a number of companies that were willing to take on the project.

The property sat vacant, with a large hole in the ground, for years.

A vastly scaled back building was eventually built a few years ago.

Then the commercial centre was approved and most recently the expansion.

The new buildings will fill out the site, which is located between Glenmore Drive and Valley Road.

“I’m just delighted to see good project come forward to complete this site,” Coun. Luke Stack. “I mean it’s been a long time coming.”