A landmark luxury resort will be built in downtown Kelowna, and it will be the most prominent building in the lakeside city’s skyline.

Last night, Kelowna City Council approved a development application to turn the site of the now-closed Willow Inn at 235 Queensway Avenue into an upscale resort complex that consists the city’s new tallest building.

It will include a 32-storey, 430-ft-tall tower with 174 hotel rooms, a conference centre, retail spaces, and restaurant and coffee shop spaces with patios on the ground-level next to Kerry Park.

But perhaps the most impressive amenity is the 16th floor “sky restaurant,” which will feature 16-ft-high ceilings and panoramic views of the city and Okanagan Lake. The restaurant venue will be Kelowna’s answer to London’s Aqua Shard.

There will also be 49 market condominium units within the upper floors of the tower.

The complex’s underground parking facility will be split into two separate sections, with 156 stalls for hotel and public parking and 133 secured stalls for tower residents.

Edmonton-based developer Westcorp Projects selected Barcelona-based GCA Architects, with collaborations by Canadian firm IBI Group Architects, to create the tower’s design, which has a slender, elliptical shape and vertical nighttime lighting treatment.

According to the developer, the redevelopment is modelled after several upscale Vancouver hotel buildings, such as the Fairmont Pacific Rim, Hotel Georgia, Shangri La, and Le Germain.

Nearly a dozen towers are currently planned or being built in Kelowna, including the construction of One Water Street South – a 36-storey, 390-ft-tall residential building.

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