Penticton’s largest housing project is another step closer to reality, although it won’t start to physically take shape until at least mid-2024.
The Health and Innovation District as it has been called will be located on Government Street across from the Penticton Hospital, and the deal to transfer the property over to the developer has recently finished.
The sale is, according to a release from the developing Stryke Group, the largest commercial transaction in the Okanagan. The project, which will provide up to 1,500 units of housing, is also the largest of its kind in Penticton.
The project will see 11 buildings on the several-acre property that was the former site of a modular housing company.
Before construction begins though, the city has inked a deal with BC Housing to use the building currently on the property as an emergency winter shelter.
According to a press release from the city, the shelter will operate from December to March 21, 2024.
READ ALSO: Penticton partners with BC Housing to provide emergency winter shelter
The sale of the property follows city council’s unanimous approval to update the Official Community Plan for the property to allow for mixed housing and commercial buildings.
According to the developers, the project will create several hundred jobs locally while under construction and the commercial space in the buildings will provide for 300 permanent jobs once the project is done.
“Our investment in the City of Penticton and the Okanagan underscores our faith in one of the fastest growing regions in Canada,” said Stryke Group’s managing director Rocky Sethi in a release. “We are proud to be working with local businesses and consulting firms to ensure a true regional understanding of design. We are also thrilled to work with local lender Valley First on financing, to bring this project to life.”
The development is being led by Stryke Group and Tien Sher Group of Companies from Richmond. The two have previously worked on master-planned communities in Downtown Calgary, Edmonton, Whalley - Surrey City Centre and Vancouver.
