Plans for a 176-unit affordable rental building in downtown Kelowna are being praised for meeting a significant community need.

During a Tuesday meeting where a height variance allowing for a 20-storey tower at 1451 Bertram St. was approved, Kelowna city councillors and planners alike said they saw it to be more than just a place for residents to hang their hats.

“The B.C. Housing project is expected to offer community within a great community,” Simon Ho, one of the designers of the tower said.

Ho said it’s been designed to accommodate middle-earning people with disabilities, single mothers, seniors and families.

Details as small as closet spaces and as grand as a daycare and shared rooftop garden space have been woven into the plan aimed at bringing more affordable and livable spaces into the downtown.

“This is an inclusive building and there has been a lot of effort on the development team to make sure that happens,” Ho said.

BC Housing says half the units will be offered at under-market rental costs and the remaining half will be middle-income units. The project is intended to benefit local medium and low-income earners, couples, individuals and families who are facing challenges meeting their housing and child care needs.

Once the building has been completed sometime between 2024 and 2025, 162 of the 176 units will be apartment-style, while 14 will be direct street and podium-oriented townhouse units.

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