Owners of Global Fitness in Kelowna looking to redevelop

The owners of Global Fitness and Racquet Centre Kelowna sent an Area Redevelopment Plan to the City of Kelowna this week in an effort to develop close to seven acres of land next to Burtch Road and Harvey Avenue. One of those owners, Brett Wilson, told iNFOnews.ca he and his colleagues are working with the city and Dialogue Designs to increase density and height on the property. “Just like Capri Landmark and whatever's going on across the street at Stobers, there's an opportunity here to increase the density and optimize the way the property's used, which is what we're following,” Wilson said.  On Feb. 23, a letter was sent to close to 15,000 members and previous members of the fitness centre notifying them of the changes. It's not clear at this time how the densification will take form and if residential unit will be part of the plan. That's ultimately for the city to decide, Wilson said. “I can't give you a timeline because the city dictates ultimately how that works. And then we have to figure out from a business perspective what the next steps are. But we're not even close to having that on the table.” For the next several years at least, the fitness centre will not be impacted. Wilson and his fellow owners own the fitness centre, parking along Burtch Road and a small frontage across Harvey Avenue, as well as the Kelowna Business Centre. The two main properties will be brought together in the redevelopment. “They got split as they were developed by property developers, you know, 20, 30 years ago,” Wilson said. “And now we're bringing them back together because the big picture is better with them together than apart.” The redevelopment idea came about when Wilson and his fellow owners looked at the OCP 2040 and spoke with the city. “Collectively, we agreed that that site could do better if it was subject to density that would benefit the city and the people around it.” Nothing is ready to announce yet. However, an open house will take place on the property in the coming months. To contact a reporter for this story, email Georgina Whitehouse mailto:gwhitehouse@infonews.ca  or call 250-864-7494 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .