Developers can do better

Photo: Contributed

As reviews go, this one barely got a thumb moving.

Despite getting approval to move forward, Kelowna city council was less than pleased with the look of a new 166-unit, multi-family rental development on Valley Road.

Councillors used phrases such as "uninspiring" and "disappointed," and described it as looking like row housing, or dorm housing.

The proposed development is part of the Conservatory site, just north of the main development.

When questioned about the look of the building by Coun. Luke Stack, planner Ryan Smith said staff try to adhere to a minimum standard.

"To put this in perspective, at an adjacent property on Kane and Valley, we spent a lot of time negotiating with the developer with a building, to be quite frank, that looked a whole lot worse than this, and had inferior building materials," said Smith.

"In this case, we felt this met the standard, but does it exceed the standards of an architectural masterpiece? No, certainly it's a rental building, and there needs to be some economies of scale so when you build these types of buildings it keeps them affordable."

Stack said, while council approves such projects because of the need for more rental properties, he challenged developers to make them more appealing.

"I am also in the business to try and do affordable housing, and it doesn't have to be expensive to be appealing. I am hoping as we see more development permits come forward that we can see a little higher quality, and a little more creativity."

Smith says the building is the first to come forward since council approved a site master development permit last year. The site will eventually include 460 units.

Mayor Colin Basran applauded the developer for including a children's play park and an outdoor adult fitness circuit.