Okanagan Food and Innovation Hub
Summerland, BC
Feasibility complete 2022
The District of Summerland is exploring the viability of an Okanagan Food and Innovation Hub to bring together local farmers and provide space for food aggregation and processing.
Following a search for a viable building partner by the OFIH, MOTIV Architects assisted the project team to assess space and equipment needs, costs, and suppliers. Concept drawings were developed to integrate the Food Hub into a larger agricultural facility being developed by Okanagan Crush Pad, with the intent of sharing infrastructure for loading, building services, and front facing retail.
The design approach included creating a more public face to the facility, supported by back of house loading and warehouse storage space with cooling and refrigeration capacity. Bookable meeting rooms and a possible retail front will provide much needed revenue and generate traffic from other community members.
A phased approach includes planning for securing a leasehold tenant for a portion of the facility, until there is enough demand from local producers to expand to full capacity.