2011 HERITAGE CONSERVATION

AWARD OF HONOUR

Laurel Packinghouse

Kelowna Museums Society
Jim Meiklejohn Architect
City of Kelowna
Sawchuk Developments Ltd.

Built in 1918 by Ward, Baldock and Harris for BC Growers Ltd, the brick and heavy timber Laurel Packinghouse is one of the oldest original fruit packinghouses remaining in British Columbia. The fruit industry was an economic driver in the early development of Kelowna, and a force in the cultural and physical evolution of the Okanagan region.

The City of Kelowna purchased the Laurel several years ago with the intention of demolition to make way for development, but in response to community interest, demolition funds were redirected to a Community Recovery Plan. By 1983, Kelowna's first heritage designation bylaw had protected the building and rehabilitation had saved it for community uses.

More recent structural investigations, however, revealed significant issues resulting from the 1983 renovations, but they also concluded that structural integrity could be regained by restoring the original roof line and floor structure and reinforcing the heavy timber roof trusses and brick bearing walls. A consulting team completed schematic design drawings and these were approved by City Council in December of 2008.  Council approved a budget for one third of the required project funding the next year and additional funds were secured through the Department of Canadian Heritage.

  Work on the project began in February 2010 and by October of the same year the building was turned back over to the Kelowna Museums Society which opened the facility on November 5th.

The building was restored to its original form and character, and the project will eventually include the reconstruction of the rail spurs at the loading docks to the south of the building. The project preserves a fine example of industrial architecture of the time, and interprets the historic elements of orchard, rail system, land-holding, and the evolution of irrigated land-development that has structured the Okanagan landscape of today.

The Laurel, and the B.C. Orchard Museum and the B.C. Wine Museum, which are tenants, provide an essential focal point for the thriving and growing regional agricultural, arts and heritage tourism industry.

An iconic building in Kelowna's Cultural District, the rehabilitated Laurel Packinghouse continues to serve as a venue for community visual and performing arts activities, as well as local, regional and provincial heritage functions. Investment in the Laurel has helped to confirm heritage as an integral part of Kelowna’s unique 'quality of life'.