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KELOWNA — Plans for a major make-over to Kelowna’s Capri Mall have been approved.

At a public hearing Wednesday night, city council voted unanimously to proceed with the redevelopment plans.

The approval included changing the zoning to allow taller buildings to be constructed that up until now only allowed 12 storey ones to be built.

While it will still remain a mall, the plans call for the construction of 15 buildings on the 22 acre site.

The shortest building will be six-storeys high, the tallest 26.

“It is a really big and ambitious project, “ says City of Kelowna’s urban planning manager Ryan Smith. “We are talking about a mixed use concept for the site with the same amount of commercial but a whole lot of residential being added to the site.”

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About two thousand residential units will be added, most will be condo suites but a number of townhouses could also be constructed.

In exchange for the height variance, the developer, RG Properties, will provide several public amenities on site.

“A public plaza that will have a skating rink similar to size of the Stuart Park skating rink which is really exciting and another small public pocket park, but as well as some public walkways that will come through the site,” says Smith.

City Councillor Gail Given says many believe the site has been under-utilized for some time and redevelopment of the 50-year-old mall is a good opportunity to fix that.

“It has changed over the years. It’s gone from something more vibrant to an opportunity so I think all of council saw how it fits with our vision for the city, “ says Given.

The height of some of the towers has been the project’s biggest criticism so far but council believes it’s better than the alternative.

“What is important is you have the space between the towers and I think this is what it achieved rather than a whole bunch of 12 storey buildings side by side. You put a few taller ones on site, you get same density but more open space, “ says Given.

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While the current mall will be torn down piece by piece, the plans show the Capri Hotel staying as is.

The redevelopment will be done in phases and will likely take about 15 years to complete.

While there will be some surface parking to accommodate the grocery store, most of the parking will be underground.

No word on when construction is expected to begin.