Ok Falls Hotel trying to relaunch, but hit with stop work order

Photo: OK Falls Hotel

The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen has ordered renovation work to stop at the historic OK Falls Hotel because the district has yet to receive any building permit requests from the building's owners. 

The establishment has been publicly under construction since late winter, with multiple weekly Facebook posts chronicling upgrades to the building and photos sharing the process.

Many public comments on the establishment's Facebook page have expressed excitement and eagerness for its opening.

RDOS director for Okanagan Falls Ron Obirek told Castanet in March that he was thrilled to hear the OK Falls Hotel was being revitalized, and that it could be a boon to the community. 

But the building was slapped with a stop work order this week. 

"Renovations to commercial buildings require building permits. We’re waiting on the permit application," said RDOS chief administrative officer Bill Newell, who further confirmed no building permit applications have been received for the hotel to date. 

The OK Falls Hotel owners told Castanet they have no comment at this time.