Thursday, June 11, 2009

Planned OK Falls resort falls victim to economy

JOHN MOORHOUSE Wednesday, June 10, 2009 Penticton Herald:
The faltering economy is being blamed for putting a multimillion-dollar Okanagan Falls resort development on the shelf. It becomes the third major development propsal in the Penticton area in the past 18 months to fall victim to the economic downturn. What was to be known as the Ramada Skaha Lakeside Resort Ð a 136-unit strata-title complex -- had been planned for a site on 7th Street directly opposite Christie Memorial Park. The developers, Skaha Lakeside Resort Ltd., co-owned by Robin and Janice Agur of Summerland and Randy Kowalchuk of Penticton, had planned to develop a 136-unit resort on a site between 7th and 8th Streets in OK Falls. However, the developers have now pulled back from the project. The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen board has agreed to rescind their development permit. “The current economy and market conditions have provided no favourable evidence that this project is and/or will be viable in the future or at all,” stated Robin Agur in a recent letter to the RDOS. “We believe this site is much more suitable for a residential development versus the commercial development as initially proposed.”

Kowalchuk explained this week the project had been in the works for the past four or five years, but the current local and world economy has caused the company to rethink its plans. “The product that we were proposing there, we don‘t believe there‘s a market for it, so we‘re changing our direction.” he said. Kowalchuk said the residential potential for the site is much more in keeping with current market conditions. “OK Falls is a nice little town at the south end of Skaha Lake, but it does not have the infrastructure in place to support a facility of that size,” he said. The site is currently occupied by three properties, including a 20-unit motel, a three-plex, and a single family home. Any future residential development would require the properties to be rezoned and Kowalchuk said there are no immediate plans to make such an application. The project‘s development permit, issued last year, would have remained valid until May 2010. However, Kowalchuk said the company decided to cancel the permit instead. Although no fee refunds were requested, one of the conditions of RDOS approval called for the developers to post a security deposit covering the estimated $87,000 cost of landscaping. Their letter of credit expired on May 31.

The Skaha Lakeside Resort joins a growing list of resort and condominium projects in the Penticton area which have fallen victim to the faltering economy. The Alysen Place highrise residential development at Skaha Lake Road and Guelph Avenue was recently placed into receivership, as its second and third phases were put on hold. Its eight-storey first phase is nearly complete. The city continues to deal directly with the receiver which has requested a refund of development cost charges and other fees paid in advance of the second and third phases. A spokesman for the Vancouver development firm Pilot Pacific Group has stated further details regarding the status of Alysen Place are expected to be released later this month. Last year, the $80-million Skaha Beach Club Resort, proposed by developer Mel Reeves for the former Wonderful Waterworld waterslide property at Skaha Lake Road and Yorkton Avenue, was scrapped. A controversial three-tower highrise resort project, planned for the Skaha Tent and Trailer Park property on South Main Street, fell through in late 2007 when Vancouver developer Barry Kaplan allowed his option to purchase the property to expire.

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