Once complete this spring, Skaha Shores rental towers on South Main Street will be the biggest housing project Penticton has seen for a while, bringing an influx of more than 200 residents across the street from Skaha Lake park.
Skaha Shores features two five-storey towers and a total of 180 purpose built rental units.
“We anticipate being ready for occupancy for early May in our first building, while our second building will be ready in June. The community will be operated by Highstreet, the same company who developed and built it,” said Anna Schneider, marketing coordinator for Highstreet.
The building will have video surveillance, two full-time staff, pet-friendly suites on the ground floor, a dog run, community garden, fitness centre and community lounge with a roof patio.
The suites themselves will have in-suite laundry, quartz countertops, air condensing units, and triple pane windows. There will be options for 1 bed/1 bath, 2 bed/1 bath, and 2 bed/ 2 bath ranging from around 629 square feet and 923 square feet.
The entire project is built to net-zero energy ready, as oHighstreet has a large focus on sustainability, Schneider said.
Skaha Shores was approved through a zoning and development permit process in late 2019 and broke ground in February of 2020. The land was the home of a Lake Skaha Tent and Trailer campground for many years.
Being across the street from one of Penticton’s biggest attractions of Skaha Park, Playground, Beach and Lake, parking has always been an issue in the area during summer months.
But city director of development services Blake Laven said the developer took that into account and added extra parking.
“In this case we had an experienced real estate investment company that understands the parking demands for their particular product and they provided more than what was required by our bylaw,” said Laven. “The city is not concerned that this building will contribute to congestion or parking issues.”
Skaha Shores will have above-ground parking spots, visitor parking, and underground parking with storage.
There are 276 parking spaces provided for the two buildings, which exceeds what is required by the city’s zoning bylaw, said Laven.
The bylaw requires one space per unit plus one visitor space per every four units for a total of 225 spaces. The plans also show 45 marked visitor parking spaces, said Laven.
With its desirable location, a waiting list to get in has already started.
People are invited to join the waitlist.
“We will be updating our website in February with floorplans and pricing, and will start reaching out to that waitlist to book viewings in the coming weeks,” said Schneider.
READ MORE: Developer looks to convert campground into apartment buildings
Skaha Shores rendering of what the towers will look like when they are complete.
