Penticton is starting to see a new vision emerge for the city’s north gateway.
The city has plans to redevelop the area into a welcoming and attractive entrance to the city from the north on Highway 97.
The city’s general manager of community services Anthony Haddad provided a summary of the north gateway redevelopment and investment strategy at council’s June 15 meeting.
The city has heard from landowners, businesses, community groups and residents to understand the opportunities in the area, all of whom had unique ideas on how the area should be developed.
Some ideas included turning the area into the city’s go-to entertainment district, adding more diverse housing, an openness to taller buildings and the addition of public art.
“Through these conversations, we are starting to see a vision emerge for the north gateway as a welcoming and attractive neighbourhood that supports increased variety of residential densities, tourist accommodation and commercial activity and builds on the economic drivers and entertainment hubs in the South Okanagan Events Centre and the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre,” said Haddad.
Community engagement also brought to light the fact that transportation and mobility are among the more significant issues with the area.
In the next phase of the project, the city will complete a transportation analysis to look at the existing road network, future densities and alternative design concepts for road infrastructure.
A real estate demand analysis will also be completed to determine the right mix of housing, tourist accommodations and commercial uses.
Once these studies are prepared, the city will host a design charrette this fall to develop concepts for the area based on the technical analysis and public input.
Residents, landowners, stakeholder groups and city staff will participate in the week-long design activity. The results of the charrette will be reviewed with the broader community for feedback in order to prepare a draft of the plan.
“Council is encouraged by the direction of this work and the potential for this strategy to increase the economic vitality of our community and address some of our housing needs,” said mayor John Vassilaki.
Results of the engagement activities and project documents are available at shapeyourcitypenticton.ca/north-gateway.
To get involved with this work register at shapeyourcitypenticton.ca.
READ MORE: Penticton residents invited to reimagine city entrance
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