A potential four kilometer waterfront corridor in Peachland is now closer to reality due to a to a property purchase by the municipality.
The District of Peachland purchased the Duck and Pug Guesthouse, located at 5899 Beach Avenue, for $675,000 fully funded from reserve funds, thereby avoiding any direct taxation impact.
“For almost 60 years, Peachland’s elected officials have made it a priority to preserve and improve Peachland’s shoreline, and had the foresight to acquire key properties on the lakeside of Beach Avenue, which has created our beautiful lakefront parks corridor,” said Mayor Cindy Fortin in a press release. “Now we have another opportunity to add to that legacy, for current and future generations to enjoy.”
It’s envisioned this key property will be used for park purposes, to augment the nearby Heritage Park and continue on with a vision that got underway in the early 1960s. That’s when Peachland’s council purchased downtown waterfront properties housing a BC Telephones office and a CNR Pier to begin the long, slow process of acquiring downtown waterfront parkland.
In the early 1970s that effort included dealing with the numerous private buoys and docks that were impeding public lake access and in the early 1980s, the district acquired packinghouse properties in the downtown waterfront after the buildings burned down.
“This land is the only remaining piece of privately owned property on the lakeside of Beach Avenue stretching from Highway 97 at the south end, to Buchannan Road at the north,” reads the district press release.
The Duck and Pug will continue to operate as a guesthouse until Sept. 30, to respect the seasonal visitors to Peachland who have reservations in place. Then the existing buildings will be demolished to make way for enhanced, continuous public parkland.