Meet the team behind the Kelowna Mill Site.

Holar Developments

Built in 1932 during the Great Depression, the Kelowna Mill Site served Kelowna residents for over 80 years as a place of employment and a source of community connections, with an excellent team that produced a highly regarded, quality stud for North American and export markets.

Holar Developments is managing the Kelowna Mill Site planning and redevelopment initiative and is 100% owned by Timber Investments Ltd., the same family business that owns Tolko Industries Ltd. and the mill site property.

Meet the Holar Team

Daniel Walsh Team Lead

Dan Walsh is an established and well-known real estate development industry leader. He works in a strategic capacity with several development and investment companies, managing assets in British Columbia and elsewhere in North America.

Since 2004, he has been a Director with University of British Columbia Properties Trust and is very involved in the complexities of a major public institution – interfacing with a wide range of community interests and a sizable development program across BC.

Previously, and for many years, Dan served as both an Executive and Board Member for Grosvenor International, a global real estate development and investment company. He has also held numerous other strategic positions with a variety of community and industry Boards.

Jordan Hettinga Development Advisor

Jordan is one of few locals both born and raised in Kelowna and, over the course of his career, has worked for various levels of government and consulted to many developers, municipalities and First Nations in BC.

Most recently Jordan was the Senior Real Estate Advisor for Kent-Macpherson, recognized as one of the leading appraisal and consulting firms in the province.

He provides leadership on a variety of real estate processes for his clients, including OCP amendments, rezoning and development permitting, land negotiations, tax exemption and appeals, highest and best use studies, concept planning, subdivision applications and Agricultural Land Reserve applications.

Mary Lapointe Community Relations & Development Advisor

Mary is a Kelowna-based development management and community relations professional with 30 years of experience in the real estate development industry.

Mary has worked with both private and public sector land-owners managing complex, multi-stakeholder development and community relations issues in communities throughout BC.

She combines community-mindedness with a strategic outlook and a strong understanding of the development approvals processes and communicates effectively across a broad range of community interests to build understanding and support for land development and management objectives.

Meet DIALOG

DIALOG’s experienced and diverse planning team has facilitated large-scale community planning initiatives across Canada.

Joost Bakker BA, BArch, Architect AIBC, AAA, SAA, OAA, FRAIC, RCA

Through more than 40 years of professional practice Joost has focused on innovative and award-winning urban design, mixed-use, residential, institutional, and cultural projects.

His experience lies in integrated design, strategic management practices, and hands-on team-based leadership. Joost’s major projects include the Shipyards in North Vancouver, BC, Quest University in Squamish, BC, the AMS Student Nest at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, the major addition and renovation of the CBC’s Vancouver Headquarters, the BCIT Gateway Building , and the West Vancouver Police Services and Municipal Hall.

His work has received numerous design awards including a Governor General’s medal for Richmond City Hall.

Kevin King Associate, Senior Planner,Urban Design

A graduate from the School of Community and Regional Planning at UBC, Kevin has ten years of experience working at DIALOG. Complementing his consulting practice, Kevin worked for three years as a Senior Planner – Urban Design in the Development Services Division at the City of Victoria and has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia’s SALA – Masters of Urban Design program.

Kevin brings experience in the planning and management of urban design work at both the large masterplan scale as well as the small scale of street or community space. His experience in both urban design and development planning strengthens his work, providing an awareness and understanding of core design issues and project complexities while not losing sight of the importance of creating meaningful change through design. He is communicative and collaborative, often guiding planning work that has an extensive community and stakeholder engagement element.

Kevin’s project experience is broad and includes master plans, design guideline development, site planning, rezoning applications, downtown revitalization plans, and streetscape improvement projects.

Emily Rennalls Associate, Urban Designer & Engagement Specialist

Emily’s interdisciplinary career spans all aspects of urbanism including policy planning, master planning, urban design, public engagement and design strategy. She is known for her ability to collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to achieve project objectives while having fun through the process. At the core of all her work is a design thinking approach, and a commitment to transparency and evidence-based outcomes.

A consummate people-person, Emily finds joy in leading generative engagement processes that unveil a community’s unique story of place. She has engaged diverse perspectives ranging from ferry users to artists, neighbourhood residents to university students, and marginalized communities to business associations. With an approach rooted in humility, Emily translates engagement outcomes into design concepts, policy drivers and strategic actions.

Emily is driven by curiosity. She believes that by collaborating with diverse points of view and challenging our preconceived notions, we can achieve a more equitable, sustainable and innovative urban future.

DIALOG Projects

Connecting North Vancouver’s waterfront

The Shipyards

The Shipyards is a world-class mixed-use development on the North Vancouver waterfront. It boasts an unparalleled public realm that completes a series of interconnected plazas, transit routes, and recreational spaces.

Vancouver’s cultural heart

Granville Island Redevelopment

We were interested in the buildings and the stories they had to tell. We fought to give them new purpose and show people how special they could be – if used meaningfully.

Keep me Informed

From the very beginning, this project has been about community. An opportunity to connect our community, to serve our community, and to include our community.

Thank you for your interest in the Kelowna Mill Site. By filling out this form you will be added to a Newsletter where you will receive alerts & updates regarding the future on this historic Kelowna property. Emails will be reserved for project updates. You will only receive emails related to the planning process and not future marketing emails.

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