Penticton City Council seeking new vision for North Gateway

Photo: Contributed

As the first point of entry for travellers approaching Penticton, City Council is looking to revamp the North Gateway.

Council endorsed the North Gateway Redevelopment and Investment Strategy (NGRIS) during their meeting on Tuesday.

The area expands over the north-west corner of the City, bordered by Riverside Drive to the west, Highway 97 and the Penticton Golf and Country Club to the south, Power Street and Vees Drive to the east and Churchill Avenue and Lakeshore Drive to the north,

The North Gateway area is home to the South Okanagan Event Centre, the Penticton Trade & Convention Centre, the Community / Aquatic Centre, the Okanagan Hockey School, the Cleland Theatre and the Gateway Casino, as well as many current and planned commercial, residential and business developments.

“To ensure an orderly, strategic and investment ready environment within this area of the City, the North Gateway Redevelopment and Investment Strategy is required to ensure a coordinated approach can be taken to land use, infrastructure needs and economic investment opportunities,” Anthony Haddad, Penticton’s General Manager of Community Services said in a press release.

“Many positive decisions have been made over recent years within this area that have and will continue contributing to the economic success of our community. Taking a closer look at this area will now focus attention on strategic opportunities, setting the area up for a successful future.”

Starting off for the NGRIS is a planning process involving a discussion with the community and landowners around the types of land use most appropriate the density of residential development and tourist accommodations needed, and the balance of housing, commercial and tourist accommodations to support growth within the area as a whole.

Key interests would include:

• The capacity of existing and planned infrastructure to service future development
• The form and character of the area, building height and streetscape design
• Improving signage and access into and through the area
• Intersection design options
• Transportation corridors
• Parking
• Attracting new investment.

“Council was pleased to see this initiative come forward. When people reflect on their first impression of places they’ve visited, the blending of natural amenities like lakes and rivers in conjunction with development, cultural amenities and an overall atmosphere of progress and opportunity makes for a striking and memorable welcome,” John Vassilaki, Penticton’s Mayor said,

“While the lands contained within the North Gateway have been attracting interest for years, the creation and introduction of a new strategy will provide an updated sense of direction around what’s possible and what’s wanted in this section of the City.”

Staff will be leading the development and talking to consultants for technical support. Staff involvement from Community Services, Finance & Corporate Services, Development Services and Infrastructure will all be involved with the support for this project.

There is $75,000 budgeted for this project, according to the City staff’s report, which was provided by a developer in 2010 as part of a previous development approved in the area.

To find out more information, view the news release here.