By Keith Powell
This week we will look at the upcoming development boom slated for Cranbrook. All of these developments are in the permitting stage, or development is underway.
• West Urban (Kootenay Street) Rental Suites: The apartment complex will be five storeys with 75 units which includes five studio units, 45 one-bedroom suites, 25 two-bedrooms and 76 parkade spots. The developer is West Urban.
• West Urban Rental Suites: This is also a West Urban development located at 1716 4th Street North (directly behind Save-On-Foods and the BC Liquor Store). It is a six-storey building with 71 units with 36 one-bedroom units and 35 two-bedroom units.
• "The Suites": Located across from Hot Shots Cafe at 2000 8th Street North. This development is a high-density residential unit or a small-scale multi-unit housing complex. The 49-unit apartment complex will include a mix of one and two-bedroom units, electric vehicle chargers and a fenced dog area and amenity patio.
• Sunset Ridge and Mt. Castle Subdivision: This is a Westcor Lands development. Sunset Ridge is 150 units including townhouses, low-income housing and fourplexes. The Mt. Castle portion of the development is 220 lots planned in sizes ranging from 6,000 sq ft to 12,000 sq ft. Westcor Lands is a major Vancouver-based ownership group.
• Kulkon Development: Cranbrook's Kulkon Construction has broken ground on a new development near St. Mary's School. The project lies between 4th St South and 18th Avenue South. MacKay Constructing is doing the civil instrature work on the project. We will update the project when more details are available.
• Cranbrook Street Development: Bluebox Developments is the owner of the property at 800 and 810 Cranbrook Street. This is the land where the former Canadian Legion and May May Restaurant were located. Owner Chris Hirn has been busy securing all permits so they can start building a new, state-of-the-art shop for his Affordable Auto Glass facility. The development plans also call for the building of a 36-unit apartment building.
• 30th Avenue Connector: Cranbrook's new 30th Avenue Connector is nearing completion. Paving, curbing and street light installation is substantially complete. The new street will connect the College of the Rockies with the existing portion of 30th Avenue and connect directly to Cranbrook Street North/Highway #3/95.
• "Cabin in the Woods" East Shadow Mountain Development: This 12 high-end residential lot development is situated on the north side of Shadow Mountain with spectacular views of the St. Mary River. The executive subdivision is currently under construction with contractor Copcan Civil doing the infrastructure development.
• Daycare Space Development: Steeples Elementary School (SES), in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club, is creating 30 daycare spaces. The project is well underway and is at lockup stage. Nelson-based North Mountain Construction is the general contractor on the project.
• Cranbrook History Centre Train Roof Expansion: The $1.2 million Phase 2 of the train roof expansion project is slated to begin this summer with Berry Architecture overseeing the design and construction work. North Mountain Construction of Nelson has been selected as the general contractor.
• New $59 Million two-storey Building at East Kootenay Regional Hospital: The oncology and renal departments will relocate from EKRH and expand into a new $59 million two-storey building. The first storey will allow the location of all renal modalities. The second storey will provide spaces that support an increase in oncology services.
• New Green Home $156 Million Replacement and Expansion Preliminary renderings of Cranbrook's F.W. Green Home replacement and expansion have been released. Architects and contractors are preparing to get the project underway by late summer. The $156.5 million project was approved by the province in September 2023, and will include construction of a new five-storey building on a vacant piece of land adjacent to the current facility.
• Ktunaxa Regional Health Centre Opens: The Ktunaxa Nation Regional Health Centre has officially opened its doors as of April 23, 2025, marking a major step forward in the delivery of culturally safe health care in ʔamakʔis Ktunaxa.
Located in downtown Cranbrook at 32 9th Avenue South, the new centre will be a hub for health and wellness services for Ktunaxa citizens, other Indigenous people in the region, as well as the general public.
A public Grand Opening Open House will be held May 8, 2025. Cranbrook's New Dawn Developments was the general contractor on the project.
Note: A special thank you to Mortgage Broker Kambi Heywood for helping prepare this report.
