Skip to content

Real estate deal with school district to benefit UBC Okanagan’s downtown campus tower

UBC Properties Trust purchasing property next to site of its planned 43-storey building
31229059_web1_221207-KCN-sd23-ubco-sale_1
School District #23 is selling property it owns (right) which is next door to the site (left) of UBCO’s planned downtown campus. (Google Street Maps)

Central Okanagan Public Schools has sold property it owns on Doyle Avenue, next door to UBC Okanagan’s (UBCO) planned 43-storey academic tower.

The property, located at 580 Doyle Ave., is currently home to the McWilliams Centre. It contains staff and teaching resource spaces for the district’s K-12 online education program, eSchool23, and does not contain student spaces or classrooms.

UBC Properties Trust will purchase the property on behalf of UBCO.

“This sale allows our district to focus on priorities of sustainability and providing 21st-century learning opportunities without interruptions to services or loss of classroom space,” said Lee-Ann Tiede, school district board of education chairperson.

The sale will help the district fund renovations of its Hollywood Road Education Services.

Construction of the UBCO Downtown tower at 550 Doyle Ave. is expected to begin in early 2023, and the McWilliams Centre site will help serve the needs of the new downtown presence.

READ MORE: Down-sized, downtown UBCO tower unveiled to Kelowna council

“This land acquisition offers UBC the opportunity to remain responsive in the years ahead to the evolving needs of the community regarding academic programming and services in downtown Kelowna,” said Lesley Cormack, principal, and deputy vice-chancellor for UBCO.

READ MORE: Fond farewell for Central Okanagan Board school trustee


@GaryBarnes109
gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our daily and subscribe to our daily newsletter.



Gary Barnes

About the Author: Gary Barnes

Recently joined Kelowna Capital News and WestK News as a multimedia journalist in January 2022. With almost 30 years of experience in news reporting and radio broadcasting...
Read more