A group of bowling advocates will make a pitch to Vernon council Monday for the city to buy — and therefore save — the Lincoln Lanes bowling alley.
Heather Leask is expected to ask council to purchase and continue to operate the bowling alley on 25th Avenue, which has been put up for sale as the owners look to retire.
The bowling alley was listed for sale last year as “prime development property.” It is currently zoned as multi-family housing, which in a letter to council, the delegation notes has made it “virtually impossible to sell to a new owner” as new owners would need to add additional services such as a restaurant or bar to make the business financially viable.
“Those commercial additions would not be permitted by the City of Vernon under the current zoning,” reads the letter.
A petition to save the storied bowling alley has attracted more than 2,600 signatures since it was started on June 28.
Lincoln Lanes has been around for more than 50 years. It has been family owned and operated throughout that time. The owners are looking to find a buyer who would continue to operate it as a bowling alley.
However, many in the bowling community fear it could be torn down to make way for a more profitable development, and the chances of another bowling alley popping up in town to replace it are slim.
“If the bowling lanes are lost in Vernon, they will never return. We have seen this in other communities around us, Enderby, Sicamous, Armstrong, Lumby, and Summerland, as well as throughout BC and across Canada,” reads the letter.
The property, just over an acre of land, is currently listed for sale for $1,895,000.
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