Text below from June 02, 2021 Castanet article
Height won out over bulk late Tuesday night when Kelowna city council resoundingly endorsed a variance to more than triple the allowable height for a development adjacent to Gyro Beach. The unique terraced design will feature building heights of 10 and 14 storeys. The allowable maximum height was just four storeys, which necessitated Tuesday’s decision by council. Speaking in support of the project and the height variance, many on council applauded the aggressive public consultation process conducted by Stober Group over the past two years. Councillors said what began as a clunky, boxy-looking development on the site of the former Willow Creek Campground, was transitioned into the current design through discussions with neighbourhood residents.
The city’s planning department also recommended support for the additional height. Planner Terry Barton noted several benefits including the quality commercial and townhouse podium wrapping the development, efficient use of density, extension of Lanfranco Road and the Abbott Street active transportation corridor as well as overflow parking for Gyro Beach. “While this is a tall building, it is a very unique terraced building design that we don’t often see in the Kelowna context,” said Barton. “They are not a cheap building in terms of the structural loads and how to be able to architecturally design these. This is a significant design challenge for the architect to be able to bring to Kelowna.”