Trillium, Kamloops’ tallest building, opens at City Gardens

“The unfortunate thing is the economy, as we all know, is different right now, so the other two buildings, three buildings will probably be delayed a year or so. But our intention, certainly, is to complete this project as it was envisioned,” stated Kelson’s Ron Fawcett.

That delay on the start of the fourth building is tied to both construction costs and the market for the end product.

“We are working with our architects, our trades and partners just to see where the market exactly is,” Jason Fawcett told CFJC News, “and what we think the whole downtown and city of Kamloops can absorb. We don’t want to overbuild so we are just making plans, being a little bit cautious on the next steps, but we will definitely finish these six buildings. It’s just a matter of how many more years it will take at this point.”

Those challenges are not unique to the Kelson Group, with the local homebuilders sharing a similar view of the Kamloops building landscape.

“The biggest issue we are having right now is the cost of everything is through the roof and whether it’s material cost, labour cost, tariffs have been causing issues,” said Drew Atkinson, second vice-president for the Canadian Home Builders Association Central Interior. “And then just so many other factors, as well.”

Atkinson noted the current housing gap in Kamloops is purpose-built rentals, but that will be quickly filled over the next few years – especially as Kelson looks toward rental for the second tower at City Gardens.

“Right now, we are leaning a little bit more toward renting, but that could also change as people… do see the difference and as this project evolves, we are going to see a lot more interest for buyers and renters in total as we improve the downtown and just make it a better place to live,” said Jason Fawcett.

by Michael Reeve

Trillium, Kamloops’ tallest building, opens at City Gardens

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