The City recently acquired a significant property at 4010-4020 Lakeshore Road, adding more than three acres of City-owned land to Kelowna’s waterfront.
“The purchase of this waterfront property is truly a legacy for our city,” said Mayor Colin Basran. “As Kelowna continues to be an attractive place for citizens to live and a popular tourist destination, it will become increasingly important to protect valuable waterfront property to accommodate growth.”
The $12-million land purchase is adjacent to the Bluebird Road Beach Access, across from Belmont Park and is comparative to the size of Rotary Beach Park. This 2.9 acre acquisition complements existing City waterfront holdings in the area. In total, this acquisition will allow for the creation of a 3.6 acres waterfront park with over 705 feet of sandy beachfront located next to the commercial node along Lakeshore Road.
“Being a significant beach park, access to washrooms, parking, amenities and food services will be important features of this park,” said community planning manager, Terry Barton. “The City will explore various ways that these can be accommodated through the future development of the park. The timing for park and amenities construction has not yet been determined and will be included as part of the current long-term City Capital Planning discussions.”
Funding of the acquisition was provided from the Development Cost Charge (DCC) program and supplemented from City Land Reserves with no funding from general taxation.
Public access is currently restricted for the privacy of the existing occupants. The timing to open the park to the public has not yet been determined.
