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It’s not quite a bargain, but a property on Bernard that’s had a lot of attention over the years is now on the market.
The acre and a half property at 560 Bernard Avenue, where The Bargain Shop used to be, has been listed for the first time ever by HM Commercial Group for $9.4 million.
Principal co-founder of the group, Marshall McAnerney, said the current owner, who lives in Victoria, has no interest in doing anything with the building.
"It's been in their family for many decades. It's a big project for somebody to take on. He's not really a developer so he feels it's time to turn it over to a developer that can build something big and great on the property,” McAnerney said.
McAnerney said he’s hoping to see the property developed into a high-density, mixed-use building, with retail stores on the ground floor and residential spaces above, whether it be apartments or condos.
"We have a very strong market downtown for that right now,” McAnerney explained. “With everything that’s going on downtown all of a sudden there's this huge interest from millennials and boomers who want to be able to live and work and walk downtown.”
It hasn’t always been this way in downtown Kelowna. The property may be up for grabs for nearly $10 million, but the area has been climbing steadily in the last little while, and is now pretty much booming.
"We couldn't give land up for development away two years ago and now there are multiple offers on everything,” he said. "All of a sudden our downtown is vibrant and people want to live there.”
McAnerney said the revitalization has had a lot to do with support from the City of Kelowna.
Once the Okanagan Innovation Centre and Interior Health building moved downtown, others followed, including BNA and Cactus Club. The old Paramount building is also being developed into a Craft Brewery.
He said he lived in Vancouver when their downtown revitalization started happening and moved to Portland in time to see the rough area of town turn into the most vibrant area.
Now, he says the same thing is happening in Kelowna and calls the Bargain property the “anchor” of Bernard.
"I think we're going to be one of the most vibrant small cities in the country,” he said. “I think it's going to be really exciting.”
The Group will be taking the property to the broader market in the first week of September.
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