Capri-Landmark & Midtown.

How Capri-Landmark & Midtown took shape

Capri-Landmark and Midtown grew on old orchard land along Harvey Avenue. Shops Capri opened on the Pridham orchard in 1959, Orchard Park followed in 1971 and Al Stober's Landmark office towers rose from the mid 1990s. The City now plans the area as two urban centres with towers, frequent transit and a new Parkinson Recreation Centre.

This central stretch of Harvey Avenue was orchard country into the 1950s. Much of it belonged to the Pridham family, and it lay in Glenmore, then a separate municipality outside Kelowna. In the summer of 1959 the Capozzi family opened Shops Capri on part of the Pridham orchard, a $2 million venture described as the first mall in the BC Interior, with a grocery store, department store, bank and clinic. Its name blends Capozzi and Pridham. Some doubted a mall could survive so far from the town core. Glenmore had voted to stay dry in the 1950s, so the Capri Hotel followed only after a later vote allowed a liquor licence. After the 1958 bridge opened, Harvey Avenue was straightened through the old Pridham orchard.

In 1971 Orchard Park opened farther east, outside city limits until the 1973 amalgamation. That same year developer Al Stober signed Land Use Contract No. 71 with the City, the agreement behind the Landmark District. Landmark 1 opened in the mid 1990s, Landmark 6 reached 18 storeys in 2012, and the 23 storey Landmark 7 was finished in 2022. On April 1, 2019 council endorsed the Capri-Landmark Urban Centre Plan, a vision expected to unfold over 20 to 40 years, including a realigned Sutherland Avenue that meets Spall Road. The Kelowna Farmers' and Crafters' Market moved into the Landmark District in 2024 after about 30 years at Springfield and Dilworth. A 23 storey tower has been proposed at Capri Centre, and the new Parkinson Recreation Centre is due to open at the end of 2027.

1. 2019Council endorses the Capri-Landmark Urban Centre Plan on April 1. Source

The homes & their setting

Built mainly as a commercial and office strip from 1959 on, with older low rise buildings now giving way to midrise and highrise condos. New proposals include GSL Group's 23 storey, 269 home tower at Capri Centre, filed in January 2024, a scaled back version of earlier ideas for eight to 14 towers on the site.

Building age, tenure, amenities and permitted uses vary by address. Explore the actual property documents with Elaine and the appropriate specialists.

Places with a story

• Capri Centre — Opened in 1959 as Shops Capri, Kelowna's oldest shopping centre and the first mall in the BC Interior. History source
• Landmark 7 — Completed in 2022 at 23 storeys and about 91 m, the tallest office building in Kelowna. History source
• Orchard Park Shopping Centre — Opened in 1971 on land outside the city, it helped drive the 1973 boundary expansion. History source