BCBusiness

38 BCBusiness august 2015 asran took his cereal bowl to his computer and reviewed two speeches. One would be an acceptance, which would thank his "small and mighty team" of largely millennial, tech-savvy volunteers. The other, much shorter speech was one of concession. Later that night, about 150 support- ers gathered at the Capri Hotel to cheer Basran's landslide victory for mayor—with a plurality of more than 21 per cent that startled many resi- dents. Other young, progressive business ca nd idates joined him on council. By nine o'clock, when Basra n made h is acceptance speech, the anxiety had žed and cold beers were unleashed—this was not a rye and ginger crowd. Still, Basran may have been the most surprised per- son in the room. Other observers— especially younger residents and newer arrivals to the civic heartland of the Okanagan—weren't so surprised. Over the past several years, anyone wandering around downtown Kelowna at night has certainly noticed a change: a burgeoning arts scene and new, buzzy restaurants and bars—places like Salted Brick, the Pilgrim and Pearl and Flask Social House—-lled with young men and women with freshly minted money to spend. And the conversations at these hotspots are not about tumbling interest rates, golf and trips to Tuscany; they're about Tumblr, content generation and trips over the backroad to Naramata. Once known for its bucolic orchards, jug wine and lazy summers of pup-tent tourism, Kelowna is now, according to Statistics Canada, the fastest-growing metro area in B.C. and Œifth-fastest- growing in Canada. Leading the way has been the technolo£y sector, with estab- lished companies such as QHR Technolo- gies, Vineyard Networks and Disney Canada (which arrived in 2005 after purchasing local game manufacturer Club Penguin for $350 million) joined by newer out-ts such as Hyper Hippo and Freshgrade in putting Kelowna on the map. There is an increasing feeling of both intellectual and -nan- cial critical mass in the sector, especially with the success of Accel- erate Okanagan—an incubator that offers a broad range of sup- port services for high tech startups. Add to that the outsized inf luence of UBC's 10-year-old Okanagan campus and a diverse real estate market that appeals as much to the young professional seeking the holy trin- ity of "opportunity, lifestyle and afford- ability" as it does to the established retiree, and you can see why more people are choosing to relocate here than ever before. The Long Build-out The dynamic and decidedly younger Kelowna of today is a project 30 years in the making, with many pinpointing the creation of the Coquihalla Highway in the dying days of Bill Bennett's administra- tion as a key turning point. That highway, e©ectively bypassing Penticton as the Okanagan's hub, created a seamless link between Kelowna and the Lower Main- land. This year, more than four million vehicles will transit the highway. Of equal importance has been the continuous growth of Kelowna Interna- tional Airport ( YLW). Kelowna is Canada's 22nd-largest city, but YLW has undergone a series of expansions that now make it the country's 10th-busiest airport, moving 1.6 million passengers per year and approach- ing parity with Victoria International Air- port. On a recent weekday, 26 WestJet and Air Canada žights arrived on the 45- minute route from Vancouver, while 21 arrived from Calgary; major U.S. carriers have also taken to the airport, with direct service now o©ered to Seattle, Phoenix, Las Vegas and many sun destinations beyond. If the Coquihalla connected Kelowna with the rest of B.C., it is YLW that has connected Kelowna with the world. The establishment of these vital trans- portation links has also sponsored the rapid expansion of Kelowna's health, education, civic and housing infrastruc- ture—ensuring that the children and grandchildren of today's residents will B "Kelowna is full of childhood adventures, and some of the best skiing in the world is 45 minutes from our front door. We like the arts scene here too. And needless to say, the cost of real estate is ludi- crously low compared with Vancouver" — Ken Gordon

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