Lee's Music at the corner of 13th and Battle in downtown Kamloops/via Google Street View

The company behind the world famous Riversong guitars in Kamloops is going to be needing a new location for its audio/visual component.

City Hall has issued a development permit for the site of Lee’s Music at the corner of 13th and Battle Street in downtown Kamloops, meaning owner Mike Miltimore is now on the hunt for a new location.

“It was a strategic plan for us to sell so we could increase what we were doing with our audio/visual company, and also with our guitar company to, so…big changes.”

Miltimore says Lee’s Music will be remaining here in Kamloops, but says he intends to shift the production line of his famed Riversong guitars to a location in Sicamous, saying the demand for his guitars is necessitating additional space.

Miltimore says they’ve yet to identify where they’d like Lee’s Music to end up.

Artist Rendering of apartment complex to be built at the current site of Lee’s Music at 13th and Battle/via City of Kamloops

“I don’t have an idea,” said Miltimore.  “One of the things I think is kind of fun and cool is, locations really give you ideas. We’re not looking for a cookie-cutter kind of a thing. We’re excited about getting into some weird space.”

Miltimore says while they’re shifting their Riversong production to the Shuswap, it doesn’t mean that he’s giving up on Kamloops.

“We’ve obviously established quite a bit of business here in Kamloops,” noted Miltimore.

“I was born here. My dad started the company 50 years ago on Dominion Street. We’re definitely not leaving.”

The Lee’s Music location at 1305 Battle is set to become a multi-unit apartment building with a commercial component on the ground floor, with Miltimore anticipating they might have less than a year at their current location before the redevelopment begins.