Penticton set the stage in 2024 for major construction in the immediate future as it grapples with the nationwide shortage in housing.
Multiple large-scale projects came before the city council and the public before getting approval to move forward.
After coming into the light in 2023, the first phase in the Innovation District across from the Penticton Regional Hospital got its approval in September for two six-storey buildings, one for commercial use including retail, office and daycare space and the other with 127 apartment units.
Nine other buildings are currently planned for the district, which will range in size from six to 12 storeys and be built in six further phases.
At the start of the year, construction began on the first phase of the Sokana development on Riverside Road at the entrance to the city, with the towering crane still hard at work as the year comes to an end.
That first phase will account for 96 units of residential housing, with the full project expected to provide 234 units when all phases are complete.
Other projects that have gotten underway in 2024 include the five-storey M’akola Housing project on Main Street, which went through rezoning approval in 2022 to allow for the fifth storey, and the 48-unit and five-storey building proposed for the site of what once was Slack Alice’s on Front Street.
The city also gave its approval for major projects on Timmins Street that will transform the area, with one providing 72 units of housing alongside a recreational facility that will boast twin NHL-sized ice rinks alongside other amenities, and a 192-unit apartment building on the property next door.
An apartment building across from Penticton's Cherry Lane Mall also received the go-ahead from the council, although the final design and exactly how much housing it will provide hasn't been finalized yet.
Even putting aside the projects that haven't received building permits yet, the city was on track for its third-best year of construction ever, with only the boom years of 2016 and 2017 beating it in permitted value.
While not housing, construction also began in 2024 on the expansion to the Canadian Tire store, which is expected to double its size and add almost 100 new parking spaces.