Since 2021, the Township of Spallumcheen has been exploring the development of a regional Agri-Hub to strengthen local food distribution and support agricultural growth. With support from ETSI-BC, the Township is developing a phased business plan to help build a resilient and profitable agricultural sector for the future.
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
New Tourism Strategy Transforms Grand Forks from a Highway Stop to a Destination
The Southern Interior community of Grand Forks has completed a major rebuild and relaunch of its original tourism strategy, shifting the community from being a quick stopping point on Highway 3 to a tourism destination. With support from the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC), the strategy served to develop new tourism assets attracting more visitors and generating increased revenue for local businesses.
Sicamous Tourism Strategy Builds a Path for Sustainable Growth
From houseboating to sledding, hiking, biking, and birding, Sicamous is the tourism hub of the Shuswap region. While summer visitors fill Sicamous with activity, off-season visitations drop sharply, prompting the community to pursue a more diversified and sustainable year-round tourism future. The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) supported the District of Sicamous Development Corporation in revitalizing the community’s tourism sector with a dynamic, five-year tourism strategy to 2030.
Forestry Strategy Positions ?aq’am First Nation for New Opportunities
Increased timber harvest allocations for BC’s First Nations are opening the door to new business opportunities for enterprising First Nations communities such as ?aq’am in the East Kootenays. With funding support from the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC), ?aq’am developed a forestry business scan, a strategy to build capacity for projects made possible by the expanded forest tenure. The scan is guiding ?aq’am to increase its role in forestry as it pursues a resilient and sustainable future.
ETSI-BC Welcomes Krista Mallory as Regional Project and Strategic Initiatives Manager
July 29, 2026 – The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC)) is pleased to announce that Krista Mallory will be joining the organization as its new Regional Project and Strategic Initiatives Manager effective October 1, 2026.
Wayfinding in Barriere for Economic Resilience and Growth
When a major fire destroyed the Tolko sawmill in the North Thompson region near Barriere in 2003, residents and stakeholders rallied to rebuild and redefine the community’s economic future. As the community has evolved, so have the systems that help residents and visitors navigate in and around Barriere, including a multi-phase Wayfinding Strategy launched in 2024. The project, supported by the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) is aimed at boosting visitor traffic and attracting more business investment, ensuring a strong and resilient future.
Five-Year Plan Strengthens ?aq’am Community Enterprises
?aq’am Community Enterprises (ACE) is the economic development arm of the ?aq’am First Nation, the largest member of Ktunaxa Nation. Known for its progressive business development goals, ACE undertook a comprehensive review of its strategic priorities. The result is a dynamic new five-year strategic plan that will guide more efficient, tactical, and resilient delivery of ACE’s programs and services. The project was supported by the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC).
Thompson-Okanagan Launches New Economic Development Practitioners Network
After a year of work connecting economic development practitioners across the Thompson-Okanagan, the region’s first Economic Development Practitioners Network (EDPN) is now in place. Modelled after the Kootenay Boundary EDPN created in 2014, the Thompson Okanagan EDPN includes community and municipal and First Nations economic development practitioners, Chambers of Commerce, Community Futures and other stakeholders. The group came together for the first time on April 8, 2026, where they learned, shared ideas and information, and further planned future activities. The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) is committed to supporting both the Kootenay Boundary and Thompson-Okanagan networks of economic development practitioners.
2027-30 Strategic Planning and DAAP 4.39 Updates
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.
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.