Downtown Kelowna.

How Downtown Kelowna took shape

Downtown Kelowna is the city's original 1892 townsite, laid out by the Lequime brothers facing the steamer landing on Okanagan Lake. Bernard Avenue, a 1904 stone store and a 1918 brick packinghouse survive among new towers, including the 42 storey Eli, and the 2040 plan names downtown the city's main urban centre.

Before there was a downtown, fur traders knew this sandy stretch of shore as L'Anse au Sable, or Sandy Cove. In 1890 Bernard Lequime bought the land that became the townsite. Surveyor John Coryell laid out the streets in 1891 and 1892, and the Lequime brothers set their general store in the prime spot, right across from the steamer landing. The main street, Bernard Avenue, took Bernard's name. The first buildings were wooden. From 1904, starting with the new Lequime store built of stone quarried on Knox Mountain, merchants rebuilt in stone and brick until the First World War. Kelowna incorporated in 1905 and bought land for City Park in 1909. North of Bernard grew a fruit district of warehouses, packinghouses, canneries and a sawmill, anchored by the Laurel Packinghouse, finished in 1918.

In 1939 Dr. Benjamin Boyce sold the City 228 acres on Knox Mountain for one dollar, on condition that most of it stay a park. Apartments arrived later. The 12 storey Kiwanis Tower of 1976 is counted as Kelowna's first highrise. From 2012 to 2014 a $14 million rebuild of Bernard Avenue widened sidewalks for patios, and a summer car free program followed. Since 2021 the skyline has changed quickly, with ONE Water Street, Bertram at Bernard Block and The Eli at Water Street by the Park, which at 42 storeys is the tallest building in the city. A UBC Okanagan tower with homes for students and staff is rising on Doyle Avenue. Most homes downtown are now apartments and condos, with a few older houses at the edges.

1. 1892Bernard and Leon Lequime develop the townsite around Bernard Avenue and the steamer landing. Source
2. 1904Lequime's Store is built of Knox Mountain stone, starting a wave of stone and brick rebuilding downtown. Source
3. 1918The Laurel Packinghouse is completed, using bricks made from Knox Mountain clay. Source
4. 2012A $14 million, two year renewal of Bernard Avenue begins, widening sidewalks and adding patios and public art. Source

The homes & their setting

A few early 1900s houses survive at the edges of the core. Apartments began with the 12 storey Kiwanis Tower in 1976, and since 2021 concrete towers of 29 to 42 storeys have been added: ONE Water Street East and West (2021 and 2022), Bertram at Bernard Block (2024) and The Eli (2025). Today most homes are apartments and condominium units, so buyers should expect strata ownership in most buildings.

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

• Lequime's Store, 229 to 233 Bernard Avenue — Built in 1904, it is Kelowna's first dressed stone commercial building and its oldest surviving commercial building. History source
• Laurel Packinghouse — Saved from demolition in 1982 and made Kelowna's first designated heritage building; now home to the Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum. History source
• Cathedral of St. Michael and All Angels — A Gothic Revival church of local stone completed in 1913, on the City's heritage driving tour. History source
• Knox Mountain Park — Land sold to the City for one dollar in 1939 by Dr. Benjamin Boyce, on condition it stay mostly parkland. History source