Kelowna City Council has enthusiastically endorsed UBC Okanagan’s plan for a downtown campus tower up to 46 storeys high. If eventually built to that height, it would not only become the tallest building in Kelowna and the tallest between the Lower Mainland and Calgary. After a public hearing that lasted just over three hours, the council voted 7-1 to approve the creation of a specialized comprehensive planning zone, CD28, with only Coun. Charlie Hodge objected. “I was absolutely over the hill excited when I found out that the UBC campus was interested in coming downtown. This is huge for our city and hopefully for UBCO, but I had no idea at the time that it would turn into a construction 46 floors.” said Hodge who marveled at the sight of the building. “I recognize that down the road it probably won’t look that strange, it will be part of a developed center with high-rises everywhere. “I don’t see that being far enough for 46 stories and I don’t feel like the timing is right.” About two dozen people, most speaking against the project, addressed the council during Tuesday’s public hearing. Many spoke of safety concerns about firefighters being able to properly fight a blaze in a 46-story building. Others spoke of the heat island effect a building of this size would produce and other climate change and environmental issues, while others questioned UBCO’s intentions to use the 500 housing units for students and staff only. The few who spoke in favor suggested the building would be an incredible opportunity for the city to get a world-class campus in the city center and a way to help students experiencing the housing crisis in the city. UBCO director and deputy vice-chancellor Lesley Cormack said the 500 housing units would help ease the university’s student housing waiting list, which has grown from 500 to 1,300 in the past two years. Aubrey Kelly, president of the UBC Properties Trust which is funding the project told council that unlike other projects of this type that receive provincial and federal grant funding, this campus will be funded solely by the university trust. Defending the need for 46 storeys, much of it for student housing, Kelly agreed they are trying to maximize and capitalize on the project. “There will be a revenue stream. We’re trying to maximize housing revenue as a way to pay off the loan,” Kelly said. “We’re crossing the line.” Kelly admitted the rents would likely be below market value. He said only students and those involved with the university would be able to rent units in the development. In the summer, when enrollment drops, the university says it hopes to rent the units on four-month contracts. Airbnb-style short-term rentals will not be allowed. Speaking to the numerous questions about safety inside the building, Kelowna Fire Chief Travis Whiting says the fire department was part of the application process as it is with any building in the city, providing feedback on code and compliance of the building. “Modern high-rises are built to a higher standard than before and have a lot more safety features in them that allow for things like egress, smoke control and residential sprinklers that are now mandatory and critical to protecting these types of buildings,” he said. Whiting. “We do have a number of towers in the city and we have plans for those buildings and we will continue to pre-design buildings like this to work within those structures. “These new buildings don’t burn like they did 25 years ago because of the very nature of the construction and the ability of fires to be confined to the unit of origin or the floor of origin and gives us the opportunity to manage these incidents.” For his support of the project, Coun. Luke Stack noted the unique nature of the building, saying the intent is to build a “hangout building” in Kelowna with significant design features. “For years we’ve been encouraging UBCO to come downtown. We’ve been looking for a way to bring students into our inner core and we were so excited when UBC was established, but we always felt we needed to have a downtown connection,” he said. Pile. “To finally see a connection downtown is huge for the city. I just wish it was a little less controversial because I actually think this is amazingly good news for our city. “It’s what we need and what I’ve been trying to achieve for the many years I’ve been on the city council.” Coun. Brad Sieben called it a tremendous opportunity while K. Loyal Wooldridge called the project Kelowna’s future. Mayor Colin Basran added that the 46-story height allowance is an exception, saying he doesn’t see the city approving much more than that height. The council’s decision sparked a tense moment when Basran asked a woman to leave the council chambers after she loudly voiced her displeasure with the council’s comments, saying they were ruining the city. The Doyle Avenue campus is expected to house more than 350 students in the nursing and social work programs as well as programs around the art gallery. There will also be a few hundred faculty and staff on campus on a daily basis.
