Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

HOUSING IN KAMLOOPS

‘Huge revitalization’; Northbridge lot developer anticipates hundreds of housing units for Tranquille corridor

Sep 10, 2024 | 7:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Plans around what will become of the former Northbridge Hotel site along the Tranquille Road corridor are taking shape.

The Duchess Nightclub and Northbridge Hotel building was demolished earlier this year and the lot has sat vacant ever since. Recently, the city announced plans for a new apartment building to rise in its place through the city’s Community Land Trust and the provincial BC Builds program.

ARPA Investments was chosen as the proponent and CEO Joshua Knaak says construction is expected to begin in the next nine-to-12 months.

“The plan right now is to put up 90 residential units on six storeys with commercial (space) on the main floor. And that fits into the BC Builds mandate to create housing for middle income families. We’ll actually see some three-bedroom (units) which is something you typically haven’t seen in a condo setting so it’ll be great for families, and we’re looking forward to being a part of it.”

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The Tranquille Road property was purchased by the city, along with the backside lot on Campbell Avenue, at a cost of $7.15 million, with a plan to use it for affordable and market rental housing.

The overall price tag for the construction side of the project hasn’t been determined as the province still needs to conduct a final review of the proposal and approve funding for it, but the goal is to have occupancy by the fall of 2026.

“It was interesting, I was just doing a little calculation the other day and there are 311 units of housing actually actively under construction starting with the one behind us (Campbell Avenue), and then another three blocks that way (Innova building site along Tranquille Road and Clapperton Road),” explains Knaak. “Three-hundred-eleven units of housing under construction and another, that I’m aware of, 300 in the works, all along this corridor. I think we’re going to continue to see a huge revitalization here.”