June 25, 2026 – The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) is grateful for the input from partners, funding recipients, committee members and other regional stakeholders who have taken the time to help inform our next three-year Strategic Plan for 2027-30. We are also pleased to provide an update on the status of the DAAP 4.39 action item.
Oliver’s Station Street Plaza Plan Drives Downtown Revitalization
Nestled in the heart of the South Okanagan, Oliver is known as a hub of wine culture. It is also a small town with a vision for a vibrant downtown serving as the hub of a prosperous community. A longstanding piece of this vision has been the revitalization of underutilized land along Station Street, sitting between the Town Centre and the Okanagan River.
Station Street had been consistently acknowledged as an opportunity, having significant planning resources invested into previous strategies and concepts for the site, but the foundational work needed an update. Consensus on a clear unified vision was essential for the Town of Oliver to strengthen its economic development by revitalizing this important piece of the downtown core.
In the Summer of 2023, the Town of Oliver leveraged funding from ETSI-BC to launch a process to update the Station Street Concept Plan with a fresh look at timely needs regarding downtown housing, retail, and amenities.
“We were able to bring the visions from all those plans into one shared vision and reinforce that with council,” explains Randy Houle, Director of Development Services at the Town of Oliver. “With the funding we were able to bring those ideas together to move it forward.”
Consultations for a Clear Vision
The support from ETSI-BC gave Houle the additional resources to bring outside expertise to Oliver, adding depth and scope to the research and engagement.
“The funding from ETSI-BC allowed us to bring a consulting team to conduct multiple workshops with council to get everyone on the same page where we can now look at consultation with the public and moving things forward,” says Houle. He noted that the funding vastly elevated what they could do, from workshop facilitation to professional graphics and scenario presentations.
With a clear vision, the previous decades of planning work are now coming to life in a strategy that reflects a vision shared by today’s leadership. This opens the door for the Town of Oliver to move forward with feasibility studies and public consultation.
Reinvigorating the Surrounding Area
The unique Station Street site is connected to a larger network of recreation facilities, parks, and a multi-modal pathway along the river. This makes it an important asset to steward. Re-development of the areas surrounding Station Street is underway, including a new hotel, improvements to roads and sidewalks as well as land across from the plaza slated for construction of a mixed-use building.
With a unified vision for the plaza, progress can keep in step with the redevelopment of the surrounding area. Houle notes continued positive strides moving from planning into action, with a summer farmers market activating the site in the short term.
Attracting New Residents and Businesses
The updated plan brings a vision to life for new downtown residential development – something Oliver hasn’t seen in decades. Options outlined in the updated plan all include mixed-use buildings with retail, restaurant, and cafe spaces plus connectivity to the river, Lions Park, and Main Street.
“What we’re really trying to do in Oliver, which hasn’t been done in a long time, is build housing in the downtown area,” explains Houle, who sees opportunity creating new jobs with the construction and attracting businesses to relocate to this area.
Attracting and retaining businesses along Station Street and in the Town Centre would be significant as businesses and events animate the area and the community begins to use the plaza, especially attracting more people to live downtown.
The redevelopment is a pivotal part of the goal to encourage the development of Oliver as an economically thriving community, contributing to a vibrant core and building better connections to the downtown. This work builds on prior projects supported by ETSI-BC advancing downtown beautification, transportation, and wayfinding, all reinforcing Oliver’s downtown as an economic hub.
Houle hopes others in the BC’s Southern Interior will benefit from the same success Oliver has seen with projects supported by ETSI-BC. He adds, “I would tell people to follow and engage with ETSI-BC because they’ve been very gracious to help contribute to multiple projects supporting Oliver’s economic development endeavors.”
More News & Stories
ETSI-BC Fall 2026 Funding Intake: Up to $1M Available for Projects
June 18, 2026 – The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) is pleased to announce that its next Funding Intake will launch on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 and close on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
ETSI-BC Spring Funding Intake Invests Over $1 Million to Strengthen the Southern Interior Economy
June 8, 2026 – Communities across British Columbia’s Southern Interior are set to benefit from a new round of investment through the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior. On June 5, 2026, ETSI-BC approved $1,011,000 in funding for 33 projects, representing a combined project value of $3 million. The funded initiatives will help communities diversify their local economies, support innovation, and respond to regional opportunities
Helping Shape the Future of ETSI-BC Support in the Southern Interior
May 11, 2026 – ETSI-BC is inviting partners from across the Southern Interior to participate in a series of virtual focus groups as part of an Impact Assessment that will inform its next three-year Strategic Plan, covering the period from April 1, 2027 to March 31, 2030.
Similkameen Economic Vitality Plan Drives Growth and Resilience
Keremeos, one of the fastest growing rural communities in British Columbia, has evolved from its agricultural heritage to a business hub at the heart of the Similkameen region with a robust tourist sector and vast potential to develop new business opportunities. In 2024, the Similkameen Country Development Association initiated a comprehensive Economic Vitality Initiative to better address the pressing needs of local businesses. Collaboration by many stakeholders along with funding support from the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) drove the plan to completion, and the strategies it contains are now being implemented.
Ktunaxa Business Showcase Links Indigenous Businesses to Procurement Opportunities
The Ktunaxa Business Showcase, led by the Ktunaxa Nation Council (KNC), is expanding, improving and helping members secure new business contracts in southeastern BC. The success of the most recent 2025 Showcase event reflects strategic changes to the program’s timeline and format, and was supported by funding from the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC).
Strong Demand for ETSI-BC Spring Funding Intake
April 15, 2026 – The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) closed its 2026 Spring Funding Intake, with a strong response from communities and organizations across the region. The intake closed on April 9, 2026, with 48 applications requesting nearly $1.7 million in funding, representing a combined project value of almost $4 million.
2026 ETSI-BC Legislative Review
March 30, 2026 – We are pleased to present the findings and recommendations of the 2026 ETSI-BC Legislative Review Committee. The Committee reviewed the Act that governs ETSI-BC and the proposed changes that the Province has put forward this year. A Legislative Review is conducted every 5 years by an independent committee. This year in particular, their report has several important recommendations of relevance to First Nations and local governments in the Southern Interior, and to the Province.
Stepping up the PACE of Inclusive Employment in Penticton
Creating flexible, part-time job opportunities for workers with barriers has been the driving force behind The Penticton & Area Cooperative Enterprise (PACE) for more than 20 years. Hundreds of employees have found sustainable jobs with local employers based on PACE’s job-sharing model to fill full-time positions.
With support from the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC), PACE has standardized and expanded its model to ensure more people can access paid work in the community and employers have access to labour market solutions, which are increasing economic growth in the Penticton area and beyond.
Columbia Valley on a Roll as Film Production Provides Region-Wide Benefits
With its spectacular landscapes and the small-town charm of communities like Radium, Invermere and Fairmont Hot Springs, the Columbia Valley in the East Kootenay region has been the backdrop of film productions for decades. In 2024, Columbia Valley Community Economic Development (CVCEDO) built on this momentum by hiring a Film Coordinator to ensure the Columbia Valley was the location of choice for two new productions and create a strategy for long-term growth of the film sector. The project was supported with a grant from the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC).