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Penticton’s population booming and housing is racing to meet demand

Over 1,000 residential units under construction or design
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These six-storey apartments would front Westminster Avenue with the others going on Power St. In all six apartments are proposed for the El Rancho site. (City agenda)

According to a report headed to city council on Aug. 16, Penticton is growing and housing is being built to match the demand.

Since 2018, there have been 1,945 residential units that have received building permits, with 316 in the first half of 2022 alone.

The vast majority, 227 units, have been multi-family residential developments.

There are 459 units that are under construction in 2022.

These include 88 units at the third phase of the Skaha Lake Towers, which was approved in February, 165 units at the six-storey development on Hemlock Street and a mix of 75 residential rental units and commercial space at 285 Westminster Avenue that is nearing completition.

Those projects will soon be joined by the 88 townhomes approved on Green Avenue, and over the next several years the 700 units approved for the North Wiltse Block.

Other possible developments are currently in the process of getting approval from city council and the public, with another 654 potential residential units among them.

The El Rancho Motel development is proposing 300 units of rentals with commercial space.

READ MORE: Future of El Rancho and Penticton’s North Gateway goes to public hearing May 17

Some housing being proposed are still in the approval process from the public and council.

The controversial Spiller Road development, proposed by Canadian Horizons, is scaled down to 111 rural lots in their most recently revised proposal, but public opposition in the Naramata Bench area remains strong.

READ MORE: Public opposition to Penticton’s Spiller Road development remains

Driving towards the Campbell Mountain Landfill from Penticton, or further along the road out to Naramata, it is possible to see signs calling for the protection of the Bench.

A potential 10-storey building on Marina Way may also end up another proposal that gets rejected, which would be the third time that a developer was unable to work out the difficulties of the property.

The nearby Lakeview Terraces have proven a critical design issue that council found issue with when the project came before them earlier in 2022.

READ MORE: Luxury lakefront tower and townhouses in Penticton sent back to developer

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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Brennan Phillips

About the Author: Brennan Phillips

Brennan was raised in the Okanagan and is thankful every day that he gets to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
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