If all goes well, construction on a new housing development at the site of the former Northbridge Hotel in Kamloops could begin next spring, and be done by 2026.
David Freeman, the City of Kamloops’ Real Estate Manager, says the city is looking to partner with a developer who would build the new structure as part of the BC Builds program.
“Our vision is consistent with the North Shore Neighbourhood Plan that certainly has ground level commercial and four to six storeys of wood framed construction, multi-family above that,” Freeman told Radio NL. “Our initial design had in the neighbourhood of 65 to 75 units.”
That vision, if realized, would mean a structure similar to the 80-unit BC Housing facility slated to rise at the adjacent property at 346 Campbell Avenue.
Freeman says the City of Kamloops reached out to the province asking that the Tranquille Road property be part of the BC Builds program. The $3-billion program is meant to fast-track the construction of affordable rental units on land owned by government, communities, and non-profits.
It also aims to create rental housing units where tenants pay no more than 30-per cent of their income in rent.
“We’ve been in conversation with BC Builds over development opportunities through the Kamloops Community land Trust,” Freeman added. “This program really sort of meets our best interests and we submitted our land for consideration, and because of the familiarity that BC Builds had with the site, they included it.”
“The Kamloops Community Land Trust has the ability to partner directly with the development community. We have an evaluation selection process and then hopefully we’re able to award a conditional letter of commitment in late summer, early fall.”
Freeman says the City will be holding a virtual information sharing meeting with prospective builders on Monday, May 6.
“We are reaching out to local developers who have expertise in building multi-family buildings who we would like to partner with [through the Kamloops Community Land Trust],” Freeman said. “The province has also got a list of developers who are working on various sites for them.”
“Within the next two months, they look at the criteria and have a number of conversations back and forth on what that partnership could look like.”
The Northbridge Hotel is currently being demolished with crews expected to wrap up work by the end of May.
The City of Kamloops bought the properties on Tranquille Road and Campbell Avenue for $7.1 million in October 2021. It then sold the Campbell Avenue property to BC Housing for $3.8 million.