The North Shore Business Improvement Association is pleased with the City of Kamloops’ decision to demolish the Northbridge Hotel at 377 Tranquille Road with plans to redevelop the building into market housing.
Speaking on NL Newsday, Executive Director Jeremy Heighton says the City did “a huge service” by stepping in and buying the hotel and the adjacent property at 346 Campbell Avenue for $7.1 million in October 2021
“There are some people who hold up the hotel as sort of this paragon of history on the North Shore. It is not,” Heighton said. “I mean, I’ve got press clippings here leading back into the early 80s where its like gang wars and drug dealing and all sorts of stuff.”
“Let’s be completely clear, this hotel has been a challenge for our neighbourhood for a long long long time.”
In a statement, the City says the decision to demolish the building is “with the intent to appeal to a broader development market, decrease liability associated with the vacant building, and improve the safety and general aesthetic of the area.”
“Following the demolition, the City will be issuing a request for proposals for the property’s redevelopment,” the City said, noting the demolition work is expected to take place early this year.
“Whether or not it was the right use of tax dollars, I’m not going to wade into that conversation, but the reality is from supporting the North Shore, getting the North Shore Plan on track, and reinventing our neighbourhood, the city did us a huge service by stepping and taking this property on,” Heighton added.
“We will see some seniors and family affordable rental housing on the back lot on that site. The front lot will become part of our commercial main, which is really great for our commercial corridors. It is really sort of an investment – psychologically and physically – in what we want to achieve over here.”
While no plans have been released publicly, NL News has learned that BC Housing has already bought the property at 346 Campbell Avenue with plans to turn it into a six storey, 80 unit building.
In a statement to NL News, BC Housing confirmed it is “working with the City of Kamloops to purchase [the] 346 Campbell Avenue [property],” though they also said they “do not have any details on the design or size of the building, as the proposed project is still in the early stages of development.”
“BC Housing plans to submit a development permit soon, as part of the regular project process. We will update the community once plans and funding are finalized,” the statement said.
Those plans are expected to be made public in the next month or so.
“If you’ve ever been back there, its a 60,000 square foot lot. It is a massive piece of property, so there is a real possibility of adding, I would suggest, at least a couple of hundred residential units,” Heighton said.
“And then of course, you’re probably going to get something a little bit higher end on the Tranquille corridor main. It may be a really good counterbalance to each other.”