Welcome to the Concrete Jungle..sniff..

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

Well we're were lucky maybe holding it off for so long..
But it is now here..
Traveling north on Ellis across from the Madison and before the library..is the start of a concrete jungle.. For a lot of the day the sun does not shine there any more.. Sort of sad to see.. A bit like going into a narrow valley or canyon.....at least for me and a few others..

Well we had a good long run..

[gman313]

Well we're were lucky maybe holding it off for so long..
But it is now here..
Traveling north on Ellis across from the Madison and before the library..is the start of a concrete jungle.. For a lot of the day the sun does not shine there any more.. Sort of sad to see.. A bit like going into a narrow valley or canyon.....at least for me and a few others..

Well we had a good long run..

Om my goodness a city is being built up in it's downtown core. What a world what a world.

Downtown is exactly where the building should be. Just cause you have been here for 50 years doesn't mean others can't.

get over it

[GordonH]

Well we're were lucky maybe holding it off for so long..
But it is now here..
Traveling north on Ellis across from the Madison and before the library..is the start of a concrete jungle.. For a lot of the day the sun does not shine there any more.. Sort of sad to see.. A bit like going into a narrow valley or canyon.....at least for me and a few others..

Well we had a good long run..

They should have been building up decades ago, instead of sprawl that is here now.

[Graham Adder]

Om my goodness a city is being built up in it's downtown core. What a world what a world.

Downtown is exactly where the building should be. Just cause you have been here for 50 years doesn't mean others can't.

get over it

Overreact much?
50 only spoke his feelings on it. No mention of not being able to get over it.
Have a glass of water next.
I agree, that it was nice while it lasted and sad to see it going, going, gone.
It is the inevitable, but at least they can't take memories...or can they?

[Hmmm]

I understand the OP's point. It is a good place to have some urban sprawl though.

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

They did start building up decades ago, it just was not as dense..

[GordonH]

They did start building up decades ago, it just was not as dense..

2 building, lol.
Executive House & Kiwanis Tower

When I moved to Kelowna that was it for going upwards instead of outwards

[Noisy Boater]

Bring on the concrete. Keeps me workin !!!

[JayByrd]

I sympathize with you, 50 years, though I don't share your feelings.

I rather like that insulated feeling. I enjoy it in big cities and I like having a bit of it here.

[dirtybiker]

Although I'm part of the problem by moving here myself,
It has grown by about 100,000 souls since arriving,
On one end it grinds me......on the other, it keeps me employed

[Grandan]

They should have been building up decades ago, instead of sprawl that is here now.

I for one do not want anything to do with living "downtown" in the "cultural district" are anywhere near. It may be very well to "build up" but that is not what is selling best, it's single detached homes and there is no place for them downtown any more.
Most of the grand old homes in Kelowna, particularly along Harvey were demolished to allow the widening of Hwy 97. Now, 35 years later we are still waiting to see the last those lots to infill and built up with high rises.
The only thing I can see is that if Kelowna only wants to "build up" and discourage or make it more expensive to build SF housing, communities surrounding Kelowna will happily oblige with their land inventory and you will have an amplification of what we have now with thousands streaming into the city everyday from surrounding communities. Lovely.
The price of land and SF residential housing needs to rise significantly before residents are forced to move into more economical housing. As long as wealthy retirees keep arriving in Kelowna there is no chance that growth is going to be heading downtown into high rises but instead will be diverted into SFR with a killer view.
To a certain extent, Kelowna has limited growth through the use of DCC's and that has driven some growth to the west side.
Are you wanting to get those people into high rises? Kelowna has no control over who spends their money where.
The core area of Kelowna has the cheapest DCC's, I don't see where that has helped much.

[Otter]

Try working in the midst of all this. Between the noise and dust, it ain't fun. Plus all the complaints we get from the public re lack of parking, the difficulty to get around down here...etc, etc.

And it ain't over yet!

[SteWe]

this lack of parking comment kills me - I'm hearing everyone mention it. Being new here, I've never seen so much parking available for a relatively small downtown core. Lots are everywhere - I can count 15+ lots off the top of my head. So is this an excuse to just complain perhaps? Or an excuse for those living out in the sprawl not to come downtown? Or is it because people can't find parking immediately outside of the business that they wish to visit and refuse to walk a minute or two to their destination (when you know, you kinda have to do the same thing if you were parking in a mall)?

[Fancy]

I'm thinking some of these lots are rented out on a monthly basis and not available for the general public for a couple of hours shopping. It's also a lot easier for the elderly or handicapped to park at a mall and shop there with benches available to rest at.
It sounds like the OP is referring to the new Interior Health building that took over a big parking lot.

[gman313]

I'm thinking some of these lots are rented out on a monthly basis and not available for the general public for a couple of hours shopping. It's also a lot easier for the elderly or handicapped to park at a mall and shop there with benches available to rest at.
It sounds like the OP is referring to the new Interior Health building that took over a big parking lot.

The're replacing that lot with a bigger parkade. The net change is an increase in spots