City Hall Project

City Hall/Library Building Concept Sketch

Update: Summer 2022

Recently, West Kelowna Council received an update from staff on the progress of the City Hall/Library Building. Read the full report from the July 12 meeting or watch the Council Meeting webcast.

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Photo Gallery: City Hall Project Update will appear here on the public site.

Fall 2021: What we heard

Through two rounds of public consultation in 2021, residents and members of the community had the opportunity to share their feedback about what features and elements of the City Hall/Library Building were most important. In the summer, the community provided feedback on the Preliminary Design, which included: customer experience options, landscaping, lighting, seating and library services. In the fall, we asked for your input on the Detailed Design to help guide the final design of the building and area. Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide us with feedback.

Below are summaries of what we heard through each round of consultation.

Preliminary Design

Feedback highlights:

Of the 308 responses to the questionnaire, we heard:

Customer experience: 75% of people said an in-person information desk or customer service area was important to see within the building
Outdoor landscaping: 75% of people said drought tolerant and sustainable vegetation was important to incorporate into the landscape design
Exterior seating: 62% said outdoor seating such as chairs, picnic tables and benches were very important and would contribute to the enjoyment of the space
Library space and services: 41% said they visited the library once per month, most often to pick up books on hold
Community gathering spaces: the top three activities people would like to see in the plaza are artisan markets, arts, cultural and heritage exhibitions, and small music events

To learn more about what we heard, read the Preliminary Design Consultation Reports:

Detailed Design

Feedback highlights:

Of the 85 responses to the questionnaire, we heard:

Customer experience:

58% of participants were supportive of a contactless drive-through payment drop box at City Hall
Comments suggested support for an in-person customer service area that offer privacy for conversations with staff

Open and inviting spaces:

Indoors: participants preferred an open-concept design that incorporates natural light
Outdoors: participants preferred outdoor seating and picnic tables, FireSmart/drought-tolerant vegetation, shade trees and a community garden

Library space and services:

67% of participants said they would use the new space to pick up/return library materials

To learn more about what we heard, read the Detailed Design Consultation Reports:

How we got here

Beginning in 2021, West Kelowna will see the design and construction of its first City Hall since its incorporation in 2007. A reserve was established as savings to fund the design and construction.

With the momentum of infrastructure investment well underway for water, sewer, roads and sidewalks, it is now time to move forward with delivering a suitable place for City administration. This will allow the City to consolidate its administration resulting in financial and work flow efficiencies. Also, Mt. Boucherie Community Centre will be returned to the Greater Westside area residents to enjoy.

About the project

The City-owned site located at 3731 Old Okanagan Highway is soon to be a vibrant area that provides greater civic services. With its proximity to Westbank Centre, Memorial Park, Johnson Bentley Aquatic Centre (JBMAC) and the Annette Beaudreau Memorial Amphitheatre, the area will be a welcoming place to gather and a catalyst to revitalization. These are exciting times to celebrate how we serve the Greater Westside and all it has to offer as a vibrant place to live, work and play.

Learn more about the project

City Hall Project Timeline

Council celebrates wheels in motion at new Skatepark

Skatepark ribbon cutting

Read the full news release.

Mayor Gord Milsom

Mayor Gord Milsom "Building our first City Hall will be a huge step forward for West Kelowna as we continue to grow and prosper, and develop civic pride unique to our beautiful community.

I am pleased that our first City Hall will soon become a reality without the need to increase property taxes, as the required financial resources have been made available through accumulated funds in current reserves and established ongoing annual savings.

Finally, I am grateful that we have been able to have use of the Mount Boucherie Recreation Centre’s community hall as interim municipal premises for the past eleven years, and that soon the hall will be returned back to our community.”

Councillor Rick de Jong

“This is an exciting time for West Kelowna! As one of BC’s youngest cities, we need to focus on core city infrastructure while our growth continues at a rapid pace. We’ve been fortunate to have borrowed a local community hall for offices, but now is the time to turn our attention towards the construction of West Kelowna’s first City Hall. A proper place of business for the community to call home for decades to come.

Moving forward together!”

Councillor Doug Findlater

“West Kelowna was incorporated 14 years ago in December 2007. Since that time, our young and growing City has occupied and outgrown two temporary city halls and a number of portables. Earlier Councils’ chose to focus their priorities on core infrastructure needs such as sewer, water treatment, roads and sidewalks, and creating a full service City.

The City has made substantial progress on building core infrastructure or have major projects underway, and we are close to becoming a full service City. The current deployment of core City staff in five different locations and portables in the City is not efficient nor effective. City functions will be greatly improved with a new city-owned City Hall that would consolidate staff workspaces under one roof. This would also position the City well to better deliver services as the city grows.”

Councillor Jason Friesen

“Having a City Hall is key in achieving many of our priorities and goals. As we look to increase the level of service that we provide to both our residents and the businesses that support our community, the ability to have all of our teams in one location will create many efficiencies allowing us to be much quicker and responsive to requests and enquiries.

A new and modern facility is also indicative of a City that is progressive and forward thinking which will encourage others who may also be considering investment in our community. Lastly, it will also return a much needed community recreation space back to the residents allowing for additional programming that may not be available now due to space constraints.”

Councillor Stephen Johnston

“I’m excited for West Kelowna to continue forging our identity by developing our first purpose-built City Hall. This new building will be the heart of our local government, bringing many of our services back under one roof and serve our community for decades to come.

One added benefit is that we will get our community centre back!

As many of you know, our current City Hall is on loan to us and has historically been a place where residents gather for a variety of activities. Our Recreation Department does a great job delivering quality programs to residents of all ages and this re-designed space will help promote many new social and cultural opportunities for our community. I’m looking forward to it!”

Councillor Carol Zanon

“It’s time. We’ve grown. We all pitched in, worked hard to communicate, plan and build the basics—water, sewer, roads and sidewalks, to name a few. So much has been done since incorporation that we are now rated by a prestigious publication as one of the top places to live in Canada. That’s wonderful, but also raises a challenge. So many want to move here that we have always had positive growth, even in lean years. It’s almost too much love. We need a home, a place where staff can work together and Councillors have some space. Now is the time to move forward and have what every municipality needs—a City Hall.

While it was a distant dream in 2007, we’re ready. We were practical, we waited, we saved. Now, as never before is the time to do it!”

Councillor Jayson Zilkie

"We are in the most exciting time in this City’s history.

The Mt. Boucherie Recreation Centre now turned into a temporary City Hall was never intended for a long term City Hall. That is why building our very first City Hall in West Kelowna is such a monumental and needed part of our growth and future.”

Read Project Summary

View Fast Facts

Skatepark Consultation Summary Report: What we heard

Reach our project team directly:

Email cityhallproject@westkelownacity.ca
Call 778-797-1234