03/18/2026
More lakeshore rec space for everyone to enjoy. I love it!
Rotary Beach Park will soon be an extra acre larger with the addition of the two lots in the photo.
The city bought the now-demolished two-storey, 2,800-sq.-ft house at 3684 Lakeshore Rd. five years ago for $4.3 million. It was built in 1981 on a half-acre lot.
The city also owns the two properties immediately to the north of the demolished home.
A home at 3676 Lakeshore Rd., bought by the city in 2019 for $2.7 million, was destroyed by fire in 2020. The 0.4 acre site was cleared and will also be added to Rotary Beach Park in the near future.
Last June, the city bought the property at 3602 Lakeshore Rd., just north of the vacant lots, for $6.8 million. But it will continue to be rented to tenants for the “foreseeable future” and is not part of the immediate expansion of the popular beach park, a city spokesperson said in an email.
In buying that particular half-acre property, the city paid substantially over its assessed value. In July 2025, the property was assessed at $5.4 million by BC Assessment.
While the large home - which covers 4,200 sq.ft on two floors - will remain in place, the city intends to remove obstacles along the waterfront, including rip-rap and a dock - that effectively hinder public access along the lakeshore.
Most areas along the lake between the high- and low-water marks are public land, though access is impeded in some places by various structures and barriers.
Within the City of Kelowna’s boundaries, there is about 30 km of Okanagan Lake foreshore. Just over one-third consists of public properties, mainly in the form of parks owned by the city or regional district.
For many years, the city has tried to buy waterfront properties as they come up for sale, with the view to enhancing public access to the lake. The approach varies: sometimes, the city buys a waterfront property, hives off a strip of land above the high-water mark to create a wider path for public use, then re-sells the property.
Other times, it buys an entire property, demolishes or sells the existing home for transport to another location, then uses the whole lot to create a new or expanded public park.
In doing so, the city attempts over time to fulfill a “vision of creating a linked connection of waterfront trail and parks for the overall benefit of the community,” the city spokesperson said.
Credit: Ron Seymour, The Kelowna Courier
