City of Kelowna, mayor being sued by developer of former RCMP site in downtown core
Global News
The plaintiff is seeking a variety of damages, including loss and delay of project profits and increased cost fees.
The City of Kelowna and its mayor are being sued by a building developer.
At the heart of the 33-page lawsuit: How the former RCMP site in the downtown core is being handled.
Once home to the city’s police station, which was demolished in 2018 after 50-plus years of service, 350 Doyle Avenue is currently an empty lot.
It wasn’t long ago, though, that plans were in place to build a tower. However, Kelowna’s current city council seemingly scrapped those plans for the mixed-used building, according to the plaintiff, Centurion Appelt Ltd. Partnership.
The plaintiff says after the building was demolished, the city began looking for a developer. And on May 12, 2020, it and the city agreed to an 80-year lease.
Among the lease terms: the plaintiff would pay the city $2.7 million for basic rent and that construction was to begin before Jan. 20, 2024.
But before the lease was signed, the plaintiff says they met pushback from an association called the Kelowna Legacy Group, which “continued its opposition campaign by holding rallies, press releases and posting on social media. Among other things, KLG publicly described the city’s decision to proceed with the project as irresponsible and called for the city to revisit the lease.”
The plaintiff says KLG was formed by a local developer, Les Bellamy, who has a condo close to the site, and that Kelowna’s current council is bent on appeasing the group.