Vernon Matters file photo

By Liam Verster

Lake Country Property Purchases

Lake Country purchases properties for RCMP expansion, park space

Oct 8, 2025 | 10:44 AM

The District of Lake Country has purchased some new properties to enhance its policing capabilities and increase its green space amenities.

The Central Okanagan municipality said it purchased the Canada Post building at 3211 Berry Road, to be used to expand the RCMP service capacity by building onto the detachment located next door.

“Back in 2023, the 3211 Berry Road property was identified as being a suitable candidate for acquisition for the purpose of providing additional space for the RCMP detachment and staff contacted Canada Post to express interest in the property,” Mayor Blair Ireland said in a release.

“Council passed a resolution in 2024 authorizing staff to negotiate the purchase of the land using Land Reserves, Policing Reserve and General Fund Surplus. Following Canada Post’s relocation, the District was informed that the Berry Road property was for sale and successfully negotiated its purchase for $1,120,000.”

Image courtesy of the District of Lake Country

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The district noted expanding the detachment with this building will mean plans to build a new RCMP facility can be pushed further into the future.

Lake Country had previously purchased a property on Bottom Wood Lake Road for a future RCMP detachment.

In addition to expanding its police detachment, the district also purchased some park lands.

Lake Country purchased a two hectare (five acre) parcel of land on Woodsdale Road at a cost of $2,297,250. This land will be added with two properties beside it for a combined green space of 4.86 hectares (12 acres).

“When Council learned that the property across from Beasley Park – and which links other parcels the District already owns – was going to be made available for sale, we immediately discussed opportunities for purchasing it to give the community more contiguous centrally-located public park space,” Ireland stated.

“In the Sports and Recreation Needs Assessment completed in 2023, community members made it clear how much they value the outdoor activity opportunities we have in Lake Country. Using contributions collected through development for the parkland acquisition, the DCC program continues to make the most sense to purchase this land which is identified within the Official Community Plan (OCP) as Parkland conservation.”

Image courtesy of the District of Lake Country

The district said purchasing this property aligned with Lake Country Council’s visions of building a “community with a high quality of life in which people are safe, active and healthy,” and expanding “facility-based recreation services, parks, green spaces and outdoor recreation amenities to meet growing community demand.”