Dismayed at development

It was with deep dismay that I read about the current proposal to approve a rezoning permit that will allow for the tear down of (Penticton’s) Bogner House and subsequent replacement with an office building.

An office building is an inappropriate choice for this neighbourhood, particularly when there is already office space that has stood vacant for months little more than four or five blocks away at the intersection of Ellis Street and Wade Avenue not to mention the revolving vacancies in the rest of the downtown core.

A three-storey office building would destroy the character this neighbourhood is desperately seeking to preserve, which will have already been reduced by developments on Argyle Avenue.

Further, office space in this residential neighbourhood would increase traffic in an area that is already plagued with congestion.

The area for the proposed office building is one of the few places that welcomes visitors into our downtown with charm and character.

Please stop approving developments that are turning Penticton into the proverbial “concrete jungle.”

Louise Punnett