Civic Spaces and Places

Penticton is moving ahead with major upgrades to our City’s aging fire halls – facilities that have reached the end of their useful life and no longer meets the demands of modern emergency response. The project includes construction of a new Fire Hall Headquarters facility at the of Hall No. 2 (Dawson Avenue) and upgrading Fire Hall No. 1 with safer, more functional spaces that better support emergency response and the people who rely on it. 

Fire Hall Headquarters (Hall 2 – Dawson Avenue)

The new Fire Hall Headquarters design envisions a 2-storey mass timber building inclusive of 4 tandem fire apparatus bays and 8 dorms with a 4-storey structural steel frame hose tower for a gross floor area of ~27,000 SF. The Headquarters will house Fire Administration offices, including the Emergency Management Program and Fire Prevention teams and provide adequate operational space for training, equipment maintenance, decontamination, communications, and gear storage while also ensuring the provision of appropriate living space to support firefighters through their 24-hour shifts. 

View the preliminary renderings 

The recommendation for the Twin Arenas was well supported by most of the participants in the public engagement process, recognizing the growing need for space across a variety of user groups. Planning for future needs and understanding the sustainability of existing facilities is a focus of the work currently being undertaken. Staff are examining the potential for a twin pad arena on the grounds of the South Okanagan Events Centre. 

The third recommendation in the Civic Spaces and Places report, for a combined Arts & Culture Centre, saw broad support for a new building that would house the Library/Museum, Art Gallery and arts organizations. 

While participants who are familiar with the facilities recognize the need for new, modern space, it was acknowledged more work was needed on the feasibility of consolidating these uses in a central location, the adequacy of a potential site to accommodate the range of uses and the ability to properly serve the needs of each group. Work on this project is in the early stages of development.

The fourth recommendation, related to upgrades to City Hall, was largely supported, with participants liking the idea of keeping the facility downtown and understanding the need for upgrades to the facility which is nearly 60-year-old. This project is in the earliest stage of development as the focus is on the higher priorities.

The City hosted five community events, more than 20 meetings with community groups and a feedback form to collect community comments and recommendations. Read about the community engagement process. 

Learn about the engagement process and view more related documents