New UBCO campus will forever change downtown Kelowna

It’s a “marquee development” and “iconic building” that will forever shape Kelowna’s skyline and the fabric of the downtown core.

That’s the vision that helped sway lawmakers to usher the way for a monumental development; a 46-storey vertical University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) campus. They voted 7-1 to sign-off on special rules that will allow the project to move forward.

“To finally see a downtown connection to UBCO is a huge win for the city,” Coun. Luke Stack said.

Securing a spot to better integrate the academic institution with the city has long been a goal of lawmakers, including Stack.

“I just wish it was a little less controversial because I actually think this is an amazingly good news story for the city,” he added. “It has been something we’ve been trying to do for years and years and years.”

Many councillors touted the enhanced social vibrancy and economic boon the facility will provide the urban core. The project was described as a dream for most municipalities, with no taxpayer dollars being used to fund it and no public land being gifted to build on.

The fact the campus will educate mainly nursing students and is set to include a medical centre the students will help run, was also lauded by lawmakers, welcoming the positive impact it will have on urban populations.

Environment, safety, innovation

The project’s sustainability was contested, but a bounty of modern building techniques -- like capturing and using internally generated heat to warm water for student housing -- will make it one of the greenest towers in Kelowna.

And while urban heat islands are an understandable worry, allowing UBCO to influence the modern monolith over a typical market-driven developer will ensure top level sustainable practices are used, councillors said.

The building’s proposed height – what will be the tallest in the city and among the tallest in Western Canada – drove the crux of public pushback, with worry about the future skyline, fire safety, and traffic impacts raised.

But the city’s top urban planners maintain the institution was baked into future guidelines, with nearby projects being scrutinized with the campus in mind.

“It has been a key considering putting together the five or six other large, tall tower proposals, all immediately adjacent,” planning manager Terry Burton said. “Our recommendation here tonight is amongst all the private sector towers … that we put the [UBCO] and its academia as the tallest tower to create a profile in this area as the most deserving landmark.”

The city’s fire department also has no qualms with the height, noting the additional modern safety features installed in new builds. As the city grows, more firefighters will be brought on to keep up with demands, chief Travis Whiting said.

Student housing a big plus

The campus’s relief on student housing pressures was addressed, with one Okanagan College student balking at the conservative language of some worried the school will struggle to fill the 500 proposed suites. UBCO staff said there is currently a waitlist with over 1,300 names on it looking for housing.

“If UBCO students can get more housing, then the rental market will be a little bit more available for the other students there,” the student told lawmakers.

She and others spoke about how some pupils are couch surfing while trying to complete their studies.

Mayor Colin Basran said the building ticked several boxes that grant it an exception to the recently passed official community plan, stressing that document is a living, breathing set of guidelines.

“This is a dream for most municipalities to have this opportunity,” he said, highlighting the bounty of synergies available with Interior Health and the Innovation Centre nearby. “I think having higher education in our downtown serves so many benefits.”

Basran said the soaring height of the building is an “exception,” with city councils now and in the future not likely to approve more buildings this tall or taller.

Coun. Charlie Hodge was the lone naysayer to the project, calling it “overkill.” And while he does want a UBCO campus downtown, believes the location for the tower is incorrect.

Heavy critique of the development permit and form and character of the building is anticipated as the project moves ahead.