Artist rendering of Canary Lofts/via canarylofts.ca

Kamloops City Council has given preliminary approvals for a major new housing complex near Royal Inland Hospital.

Set to be located at the corner of 1st and Columbia, Canary Lofts is going to include a mix of 141 new condo and rental units, including bachelors, one and two bedroom suites in addition to a renovated 30-unit structure that is currently on site, for a total of 171 units.

“It’s something where we can supply housing for hospital workers, for TRU students – people going to TRU – and all the major businesses downtown…even up into Sahali,” said Sheila Minton, Manager of Total Concept Developments, the group behind the project.

Minton notes one of the things that stands out in the artist rendering is the multi-color design of the facade, which she notes was gleaned from a Dutch artist.

“My family’s Dutch, and they had pulled from that,” noted Minton.  “So we’re adding a little bit of color to the city cause a lot of the buildings are bland lately.”

Artist rendering of Canary Lofts/via City of Kamloops

Minton says the project will also include full underground parking for tenants with 178 stalls planned, as well as guest parking both above and below ground.

“We’re not looking for a parking variance in that we are providing adequate parking for the building. We also have a spot planned for outside for moving trucks.”

Minton says they also hope to convince the City to establish a bus stop at the location to allow people to travel more easily by public transit.

City councillors voted in favour of moving the proposal to a public hearing in order to gauge opinions from the community.

Minton says if everything goes to plan, they hope to have shovels in the ground by this summer, with a potential opening of the new complex in the summer of 2025.