City of Penticton adds to land holdings

Penticton city council is becoming a bit of a land baron, at least when it comes to Ellis Street.

Yesterday, council gave the nod to purchasing the former Greyhound bus depot for the city, at a cost of $1.2 million.

Related: Greyhound motoring away from Penticton for good

“With this additional piece of land now owned by the City, Council is in a strong position to reshape that section of Ellis Street and have greater influence over how that area may be developed in the future,” said Mayor John Vassilaki.

With the addition of the Greyhound depot, which is comprised as four lots, the city now owns a long section of properties on the west side Ellis Street, stretching from the “bus barn,” which was formerly home to FitKidz Gymnastics

“The site was in high demand and we believe there were eight or nine different offers that Greyhound was considering as part of their process. When we look at comparable sales in this area, we believe the accepted value represents fair market value for this property, in what is a long-term investment for our community,” said Anthony Haddad, director of development services.

“The value of land will only increase over time,” said Haddad.

While the final long-term use of the property isn’t yet determined, following the demolition of the terminal building, staff have proposed the site be converted into a parking lot in response to increasing development activity and demand for employee parking downtown.