The developers of a proposed tower on the former RCMP site are rejecting claims there was any inappropriate conduct in the redesign of their building.
A statement from Appelt Properties and its partner Wexford Developments says the ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη Legacy Groupβs (KLG) statements about the project planning and approvals process are misleading.
KLG released its own statement earlier this week questioning whether the original 13-storey development was βdestined to fail, or was it a bait-and-switch.β A revised proposal put forward by Appelt and Wexford increases the building to 25-storeys.
According to Appelt, the changes are a result of the community input received on the buildingβs form and character and not bait and switch.
βWe have received tremendous support for the 350 Doyle application, and we are pleased that our neighbours are perceiving the design changes as an improvement on the earlier version of the plan,β says Greg Appelt, president.
Appelt pointed out the result is a taller, slimmer building which is set back from Doyle, better protects views from neighbouring properties and reduces the shadow impacts in the neighbourhood, all with the originally promised amenities intact.
βThe redesign does mean that a total of 59 rental units have been lost,β added Appelt.
KLG also claims the developers were awarded use of the city-owned land in exchange for a relatively small monthly lease of approximately $2,300 per month for 88 years with a review and adjustment at that time for another 19 years.
Appelt says the monthly lease payment is not $2,300 a month.
The KLG statement was signed by Les Bellamy, whom Appelt describes as βthe spokesperson for an anonymous special interest group with unclear intentions.β
βIf he and KLG members genuinely suffer from a lack of understanding of the application and the results of our consultation, we invite him to engage with us directly because we believe it represents a positive outcome to the community engagement process,β said Appelt.
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gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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