UBC Okanagan hopes to take the phrase “higher learning” to a whole new level. In a new filing in the city on Monday, the university seeks to change the height of the downtown campus and residential tower on Doyle Avenue from 34 floors to 46. It is part of an application seeking a modification to a fully designed campus. If finally approved by the council, it would become the tallest building in the city, surpassing the 42-storey Eli Building, part of the Water Street by the Lake project. The previous application for a 34-storey building was submitted to the city planning department in December, but has not yet reached the council table. The latest iteration will include a “full range of academic, research and other supportive land uses necessary for a top campus and campus,” the app notes. Housing and education services will be primary uses within the building with secondary uses for childcare, culture, health, alcohol, offices, professional services, religious services and retail. The last 34 floors will be dedicated to 503 residential units. These will include 335 studio units, 68 one-bedroom and 100 two-bedroom. Kelowna Design Director Ryan Smith said a year ago that the 46 floors could go beyond what the design department could support. In that case, he was talking about a 46-story proposal from New Town Architecture on Bertram Street near Bernard. This proposal has been withdrawn from the table. Discussing the project in particular and the height in general, Smith said it was his belief that the city has reached its peak in terms of height, talking specifically about the 42-storey Eli project. “Leon was a somewhat special case. On the staff side, we do not see the need to support much beyond what we already have, if not at all,” he said at the time. “40 can push it.”
