Castanet

https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/3 ... rface-lots

The only way this makes more sense to me than a parkade is if their long term plan is to acquire more land for parking now with an eye to using it for hospital expansion in the future. Kind of like what happened to the last large surface parking lot they had (which is now under the Centennial Building).

IH has been acquiring land for years ..

They bought the house we were renting on Speer street 4 or 5 years ago and gave us the boot 3 ish years ago .

At that time , they owned all but 4 houses on the entire even numbered side of the block and did a mass "renoviction" of the tenants in one fell swoop ..I'm sure by now they own / property except for all but one house . After they start to build 9 out of the 10 lots on the street , the last guy will cave and Viola , the entire even numbered side of the 2200 block of Speer street will be new , ground level parking .

Its cheaper to demolish the houses, flattened the lots and pave.

Most notably, IH says the $4.6M the regional district approved last year towards a new $20M parkade at KGH is being repurposed.

IH should decline the funds they misrepresented as being specifically for a parkade and then reapply for parkade funding when they actually build a parkade. If not it may be hard for the Regional District, any other level of government or the public to believe what any future funding requests will actually be used for. Bait and switch.

cv23 wrote: IH should decline the funds they misrepresented as being specifically for a parkade and then reapply for parkade funding when they actually build a parkade. If not it may be hard for the Regional District, any other level of government or the public to believe what any future funding requests will actually be used for. Bait and switch.

I strongly disagree:

1st off - IHA can't just repurpose the funds like that without Regional District's approval. They approved it, not sure why you've automatically jumped to conclusion that this was done without their blessing. I mean - we all agree it's the better course of action, why wouldn't they? RD gave them money to improve the parking situation. They really don't care how it's done except that it's done in the most efficient manor getting the most value for the taxpayer dollar. Smart business people focus on the outcome, not on how that outcome will be achieved.

2nd - 9 YEARS WAIT FOR A PARKING PASS! What you propose means delaying building of additional parking stalls by 2 years. In government organizations It takes a minimum of 2 years from the point where "someone asks for the money" to "getting the money" unless it's deemed an emergency and utilizes emergency/contingency funding. And that's assuming the request is funded in the 1st year vs deferred for consideration the following year.

1st off - IHA can't just repurpose the funds like that without Regional District's approval. They approved it.....

Where does it state that the RD approved a different use of the funds specifically approved for a parkade? What the article does say is:

in all, the regional district is being asked to contribute $9.8 million towards the $27.5 million plan. The RDCO board will discuss the proposal Wednesday morning.

If urgency is the priority just how long will this new plan take if the homeowners decide they don't want to sell now or in the near future? IH already has the land to build a parkade right now so this new plan will only increase the wait time for staff parking from months to more likely decades

Rather than building a single parkade we have determined that the preferred solution is to acquire land with close adjacency to the Kelowna General Hospital campus and to develop surface parking lots on these properties,” said IH chief financial officer Sylvia Weir in a letter to the board.

Alright. So RD still needs to review/approve. Still doesn't change the fact that IHA won't move ahead without their approval.

Good point about buying property. They've already identified some opportunities I'm sure, they're in constant talks with neighbors, some have even had their titles modified such that IHA get's 1st opportunity should the property come up for sale.

They won't be successful expropriating land, so it'll be a willing sale only. The land doesn't need to be adjoined - just within a few blocks. It'll take some time I'm sure, but not 2+ years. A quick look on realtor.ca shows approx 10 properties currently for sale that would suit the bill - ruling out expensive lakefront of course.

Based on the last decade of improvements to KGH there is absolutely no plans of relocating. So buying up property’s around there current location will be for the short term parking... long term future expansion.

TylerM4 wrote:Alright. So RD still needs to review/approve. Still doesn't change the fact that IHA won't move ahead without their approval.

Good point about buying property. They've already identified some opportunities I'm sure, they're in constant talks with neighbors, some have even had their titles modified such that IHA get's 1st opportunity should the property come up for sale.

They won't be successful expropriating land, so it'll be a willing sale only. The land doesn't need to be adjoined - just within a few blocks. It'll take some time I'm sure, but not 2+ years. A quick look on realtor.ca shows approx 10 properties currently for sale that would suit the bill - ruling out expensive lakefront of course.

Like I posted earlier , IH already owns at least 90% of the even side of the 2200 block of Speer st . That's the block that runs in between Royal and rose ave and backs on to the alley in between the Walter Anderson building .. I really don't see too muck of a need for that much more land ..

And as far as it being a "willing" sale , I'm sure it's all about the land and buildings not so much . Ask any neighbour on the odd side of the block .

IH already owns at least 90% of the even side of the 2200 block of Speer st . That's the block that runs in between Royal and rose ave and backs on to the alley in between the Walter Anderson building .. I really don't see too muck of a need for that much more land ..

Bring on the bulldozers and the paving crews and let's get KGH staff some parking!

Bring on the bulldozers and the paving crews and let's get KGH staff some parking!

Yeah !!! Our family found a place to move to after they renovicted us , why not ?

Make better use of the lands around KGH than family homes , I say !!

GordonH wrote: Based on the last decade of improvements to KGH there is absolutely no plans of relocating. So buying up property’s around there current location will be for the short term parking... long term future expansion.

Now if &/or when a second hospital is proposed for the central Okanagan (doubtful anytime soon), imo it should be built in West Kelowna.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/3 ... old#326322

This is an interesting development in the KGH parking situation if true.
The price paid is interesting as BC ASSess, the supposed authority on property values in Kelowna, show the property as being valued at only $3.6mil not the $10mil it reportedly sold for. Is BC Assess once again proven to be totally out incompetent at their job or did IH pay way to much?

So when would this purchase be confirmed or denied? If the parking demands are so dire wouldn’t they want to get on developing it as soon as possible.