Ownership of a 40-year-old senior’s complex in Kelowna is about to change.

The Central Okanagan Kiwanis Community Service Society has entered into a contract to sell its 146-suite high-rise tower, on the corner of Lawrence and Gordon.

Photo Credit: Google Maps.The Kiwanis Tower is set to change hands by the end of 2016.

The sale will go through on December 31st, 2016, and current residents will be able to continue living in the building after the sale.

According to the Kiwanis Society, they are selling the building to focus more on the needs of young people in the community.

“After more than 40 years of operating the tower as one of our community projects, Kiwanis has come to the difficult decision that this project no longer fits within our mandate,” says Bob Bissell, president of the Tower’s Board of Directors, in a statement. “That said, we felt we could only sell the building to a purchaser who would continue serving our valued tenants with compassion and respect.

“We believe that the purchaser group is an ideal successor to us.”

The Kelowna Foundation for Hope and Social Innovation is buying the property.

The Foundation is a community group which Kiwanis says is already serving housing and social service needs in the community.

The Foundation’s will create a social enterprise centre in the tower, which will provide job training and placement as well as opportunities for social inclusion, spiritual nurturance, and housing.

Metro Community is taking on the work of the Foundation.

“Like most urban centres, Kelowna is experiencing an increase in the number of people who, for various reasons, are having difficulty finding their place in our community,” says Laurence East, spokesperson for the Foundation and lead pastor for Metro Community, also in a statement. “The Kiwanis Tower, which has a legacy of care for its residents, provides an ideal opportunity to continue to provide local, practical solutions to some of the problems associated with social and economic alienation.”

East said they want to get to know the residents of the tower, so they know their needs before they officially take ownership.

“Our mission is to care for community and we are thrilled at having an opportunity to extend that mission,” said East.

She said residents shouldn’t expect to see any changes in the next year.

The tower has been operated by the Central Okanagan Kiwanis Community Service Society Board, a project of the Kelowna Kiwanis Club, since it opened to residents in 1976 as the tallest building in the city.

Currently, the Kelowna Kiwanis Club has about 20 members, who invest about $35,000 and nearly 900 hours into community projects a year.

Some of the other Kiwanis projects in the city include the Kiwanis Music Festival, the Women’s Shelter, the BC Burn Centre, Bumbershoot Children’s Theatre, Reach Out Youth Counselling, the Food Bank, and the Waterpark at Kelowna City Park.