Reimagined North Shore concepts revealed by City of Kamloops

As staff continue to work on the North Shore Neighbourhood Plan, the city has unveiled new, high-level designs of what may be in store in the future.

The city held a design charrette recently, and have shared a video revealing and explaining ideas for the future of the community.

City planning manager Jason Locke says the concept has three components — a North Shore Town Centre (NSTC), a Riverfront District and the Tranquille Market Village Corridor between the two.

At the south end, the area near Overlanders Bridge has been reimagined as the Riverfront District; it includes a commercial area connected to a live/work area, with the old pillars in the Thompson River being utilized as a pier partway into the water (similar to the one at Riverside Park).

"Down where the pier is, that could be a community market, like a smaller version of Granville Island," Locke explains.

A produce and food market could be closer to the water with the live/work area inland.

"You could have artisan studios, maybe a bit of a brewery district," he adds.

A driver for the design is to allow the public more access to the waterfront on the North Shore, and could include an extension of Rivers Trail.

"This is still very much part of the visioning stage in terms of, this is what we heard from the community."

Further north, along the corridor, sub-districts are being considered. Particular parts would be the Social Enterprise Hub, the Cultural Village and the Innovation Hub (anchored by the Kamloops Innovation Centre). These would be sections with character. For example, the Cultural Village would retain some of its current feel.

"You want to keep the mom-and-pop shops," Locke says. "(There could be) one or two storeys (of residential) above, but the idea is to continue that funky, eclectic vibe that’s characteristic of that area."

At the northern end, in the NSTC, the city is considering higher densification, with residential towers above current commercial areas like Northills Mall.

"The idea is you would begin to utilize these spaces not just for commercial but lager scale residential," he says.

Part of that, and something Locke says is a want from the community, would be a large retail outlet.

"There may be an opportunity to reintroduce a large format retail outlet," he says. "We don't want an ugly, big-box store."

However, big box stores don't have to be ugly, he adds, pointing to a recent development in Port Coquitlam where a Thrifty Foods grocery store is under residential units.

More green space in the area, including a new civic park, are included in the designs; Locke says that's another thing the community has been a proponent of.

"If you look at the North Shore Town Centre concept and just the way that’s been reimagined, there’s quite a bit of green space," he says.

The neighbourhood plan is still in the public consultation stage and ideas may still change as the update continues.

"The idea is that as we continue to work through the North Shore Neighbourhood Plan update… what are the polices we need to put into place to support some of these ideas?" Locke says.

Implementing policies and zoning bylaws today will affect how the community looks in the future, he explains.

The ideas aren't just for the city; they're for developers and private land owners as well. The designs show what sort of developments the city is looking to support.

"This is going to require a combination of both public and private investment," Locke tells Castanet.

He and his staff will be reaching out to land owners and stakeholders, and will continue to take in public feedback about the initial designs.

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A video of what's being discussed is below.