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The City of Penticton isn’t ready to pull the plug on the dream of the South Okanagan Performing Arts Centre.
Council Tuesday granted the SOPAC society another extension, committing to hold the empty lot at Ellis and Nanaimo while city staff get to work on an overarching development plan for the Ellis corridor.
The planning for the Ellis corridor, however, would not start until 2020 due to budget constraints and would last 6-8 months at an unknown cost.
Over the years the city has become a major landowner on Ellis Street, most recently with the purchase of the former Greyhound bus depot.
Director of development services Anthony Haddad suggested an in-depth study on what can be done with the five properties the city now owns on Ellis Street between Wade and Front Street.
Coun. Jake Kimberley, a former SOPAC board member who has been campaigning for a protective covenant on the proposed SOPAC site, agreed.
“I’m a great believer in vision planning and I think what Mr. Haddad has put forward here is a good way to approach the use of all the land on Ellis Street,” he said.
The delay will allow the SOPAC group time to organize a symposium to explore ways to get the project off the ground. The society promised a symposium last year, but it was cancelled due to a lack of local support.
“I’ve been on this council a lot of years and through all of that time, repeated calls from council to SOPAC for a financial plan,” Coun. Judy Sentes said. “Show us, tell us, how you would be involved as a partner in making this happen.”
“Building it is one part of the equation, we’ve got to be able to sustain it,” she added.
Coun. Campbell Watt questioned if the plan is even feasible anymore, saying “times have changed” since the idea spawned in 2007.
The area development plan in 2020 will also gather some feedback from the public, as Coun. Julius Bloomfield noted the community’s appetite for such a project has not been tested for many years.
Mayor John Vassilaki urged SOPAC to hit the streets to drum up support for the multi-million dollar idea, stating there was “no way on earth” he will vote in favour of holding the land longer than the next 12-18 months unless the community supports it.
“It just to me doesn’t make any business sense... We’ve never ever seen a business plan,” he said.
