The developers of what are slated to become the two tallest buildings between Calgary and the Lower Mainland, say sales have been so strong for suites in the first tower at One Water Street, they are speeding up their plan to start selling suites in the second tower.
Henry Berznicki, managing partner of North American Development Group, said Tuesday during a ground-breaking ceremony for the 36-storey East Tower on the site at the corner of Water Street and Sunset Drive in downtown Kelowna, 190 suites have been sold. That, he said, is close to a sell out.
“The majority of the East Tower’s one- and two-bedroom homes sold quickly and given the excess demand generated, we are pressed to release more of these homes as planned for the West Tower,” he said. “There’s also impressive demand for sub-penthouses and penthouses in this unique urban-style, luxury high-rise development.”
Berznicki said as a result, the company, which is building the two-tower development in partnership with Kerkhoff Construction, will start marketing suites in the planned 29-storey West Tower immediately, six months earlier then originally planned. Sales of suites in the West Tower will start in the summer.
The development will also feature a three-storey podium structure on top of which will be The Bench, 1.3 acres of open space featuring amenities such as a dog run, two outdoor pools, a hot tub, a pickleball court, barbecue pits and fire pits located in a landscaped setting. It will connect to a large private indoor health club.
On Tueday Mayor Colin Basran pushed the button to start the process of installing the approximately 150 piles being pushed into the ground for the development using a vibration method to reduce noise and shaking usually associated with pounding pilings into the earth.
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Berznicki said the vibration method was being used to reduce the impact of the work on the site’s neighbours. There are several other high-rises nearby, as well as the Grand Okanagan Hotel and Prospera Place.
As part of its ground-breaking announcement, the two developers also announced they will donate $1 for every foot of pilling driven into the ground to the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation’s JoeAnna’s House fundraising campaign.
JoeAnna’s house will be a home-away-from-home for families with a loved one receiving treatment at KGH. The foundation currently has an $8 million fundraising campaign underway for the project.
Berznicki said each pilling is about 150 feet long but the total will not be known until the last pilling is in the ground.
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