As a born and raised local of Kelowna, I have become accustomed to and spoiled by our four season playground.
Kelowna has many focal points that make our area a popular place to live— our beautiful lakes, our ski community and many different neighbourhoods.
One up and coming neighbourhood that I feel often gets overlooked is the community of Rutland.
Rutland offers solid single family homes at affordable pricing and a variation of condominiums.
Also located in Rutland is where you’ll find the acclaimed golf community of Tower Ranch, showcasing stunning valley views and a variety of high-end single-family homes on the market now for as low as $439,900.
The local high school, Rutland Senior Secondary, has some of the best and most intricate academic programs in Kelowna such as advanced placement through BCIT dual credit courses and a secondary school apprenticeship program.
Lew MacDonald a resident of Rutland, stated recently how Brent Applegath, the video production teacher at Rutland Senior Secondary, helped her son, Hayden, take his love of film and focus in on a bachelor’s degree in motion picture arts.
“Hayden started his first year at Capilano University in September thanks to Mr. Applegath and RSS,” MacDonald said.
Along with great schools, Rutland has one of the only BMX tracks in Kelowna, several different sports fields, a local YMCA, skate park and a water park.
“Rutland is recognized as a key urban centre in the City of Kelowna’s official community plan and it’s been the focus of a number of key planning initiatives in the past few years to realize the vision of creating an attractive town centre in uptown Rutland,” said Kelowna Mayor Walter Gray.
The city has also implemented the second phase of the Kelowna Rapid Bus project, called the Rutland Transit Exchange, at a cost of $4.5 million,with constructon scheduled to start next spring.
This project will focus on enhancing the convenience of a bus service schedule for every 15 minutes or better during peak hours.
“It’s really a complex and complete community. As we see the four corners finally being built out, over the years to come we’re going to see the community blossom,” added Norm Letnick, the Liberal MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country, a riding that encompasses part of Rutland.
Ceinwen Morgan 