Construction on a new six-storey mixed use apartment building with two floors of commercial space in north Kamloops is finally underway.
Joshua Knaak with ARPA Investments says the new building at the intersection of Tranquille Road and Clapperton Road has been a long time coming.
“We had designed something and then COVID hit and so then we changed design and now we’re finally moving ahead,” Knaak said.
“It’s a building that is actually very similar to the Station on Tranquille with two stories of commercial and four stories of residential, but its a little bigger. It’s a little bit more residential units and we’re very excited to finally be underway.”
The new building will feature 59 rental housing units ranging from studio suites to two bedroom ones.
“No three bedroom units in this one but a good mix of studio, one, and two bedroom units,” Knaak added .”Very similar to other projects that we’ve built in that area between the Station and Colours on Spirit Square.”
Knaak says the building should be ready by early 2026 as construction is expected to take between 16 and 18 months to complete.
“Spring of this year was when we were sort of hoping to [start construction] just from a timing perspective of when we had drawings. But you know everything just takes a little bit of time,” he said.
“You’ll start to see we’ve done some clearing at this point, but you’ll start to see some excavation and shoring take place in the next week.”
Knaak also says planning work for a new hotel at the former Kamloops Innovation Centre building next door is currently underway.
“That’s at the top of the planning chart right now for us, and we’re already starting work with the architect,” Knaak said. “We’re chatting with some hotel partners for what is going to look like.”
“We are buildings and developers not hotel operators but I think the demand is there and I think it’ll be a great addition to that corridor.”