New life for old project

In what Mayor Ron Hovanes described as “an historic moment,” town council Monday approved yet another permit for the troubled Las Gallerias development at the west foot of McKinney Road.

The stark, empty, four-storey concrete structure sits behind barbed wire a few yards from the east bank of the Okanagan River. Stacks of aging building materials are scattered about the overgrown property.

Council voted unanimously to approve a new development permit for landscaping and finishing the 30-unit project, on which construction began more than 20 years ago.

The original development was undertaken in 1995 but foundered a short while later, leaving some early concrete work for a parking structure, but little else.

In 2005 another proposal was approved by council, this time allowing for “tourist accommodation,” but this attempt also failed before the work was complete.

Hovanes, in endorsing the latest development proposal on the site, called it “a cool opportunity for Oliver.”