Plan in the works for 671-acre neighbourhood in Kelowna's north-end

Developers have begun a masterplan for the development of 671 acres of McKinley Beach’s hillside in the Kelowna's north-end. Placemark Design has applied to the City of Kelowna for permission to begin the planning and consultation process for the hillside development dubbed McKinley Gateway, according to a press release from Placemark issued, May 12. McKinley Beach’s Hillside and Hilltown neighbourhoods were approved for development by the city back in 2008. There were a total of 872 acres to be developed so far 220 acres have been developed. “Kelowna is seeing a majority of its economic and job growth happening in the north, yet residential development has occurred predominantly within our urban centres," developer Andrew Gaucher said in the release. Placemark Design said McKinley Gateway could have middle density housing, high-end shopping, trails and parks, and a new elementary school. READ MORE: Why you should expect a bigger property tax bill in booming Kamloops, Okanagan next year https://infotel.ca/inhome/why-you-should-expect-a-bigger-property-tax-bill-in-booming-kamloops-okanagan-next-year/it104689 “McKinley Gateway sits near the heart of this north economic centre, which includes UBCO, the Kelowna International Airport and extensive industrial lands, and can help to support sustainable community-building by providing more homes near those jobs. We support the smart growth that is occurring in Kelowna’s urban centres, and in this case, the opportunity is to create a more complete neighbourhood for north Kelowna, where thousands of jobs already exist,” Gaucher said. Placemark Design said it plans to have an “extensive community engagement program” once it has approval from the city. “We will work closely with local residents and the many other regional stakeholders to ensure that local perspectives and community planning best practices are guiding the process,” Gaucher said. To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 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 .