Champion of downtown restoration, Bill Scutt, passes

If it's a beautifully renovated brick building downtown, Bill Scutt probably owned it.

Scutt, a long-time champion of restoring and preserving old buildings for modern uses, passed away suddenly April 27 at the age of 69.

He was home with his wife of 28 years, Pamela Vaughn, at the time.

"I don't know how to feel," said Vaughn.

"He was waiting for heart surgery to fix a faulty heart valve, but he was happy because his heart muscle was fine and we thought all was good. It's so sad."

Vaughn said his professional legacy will certainly be one of downtown preservation, but his personal legacy is one of loving husband and friend to so many people in Kelowna.

"He spent his whole life in Kelowna and he knew everyone and everyone knew him," said Vaughn.

"So many people will want to remember and honour Bill that I'm worried there won't be enough room for them all at the yacht club."

The celebration of life for Scutt is June 2, 2 to 5 pm, at the Kelowna Yacht Club.

Scutt got into real estate when he started helping his mom, Paula, with a medical building she owned on Gordon Drive.

He saw potential in commercial real estate, especially downtown where he bought old, brick buildings that had seen better days and then renovated and restored them for modern reuse.

His portfolio was extensive:

- the 1903-era Boyce Building at 215, 219 and 223 Bernard Ave. where Soul Eyewear, Pacific Poke and Jugo Juice are

- the 1904-era Lequime Building at 227, 229 and 231 Bernard Ave. that houses Freshslice Pizza, Pita Pit and the space for lease where Jack's Restaurant was previously

- the 1921-era Foster Block at 233, 235, 239 and 243 Bernard Ave. that houses Meiklejohn Architects, Sunny's Modern Diner, Moo-Lix Ice Cream and Salt & Brick restaurant

- the 1917-era Raymer Block at 289, 293 and 297 Bernard Ave. where Memphis Blues Restaurant, the former Blonde Boutique and Blenz Coffee are

- the 1914-era Elliott Block at 1560 and 1562 Water St. that's currently for lease, but where Raudz Regional Table restaurant and Kelowna Medical Aesthetics used to be

- 1500, 1516 and 1530 Water St., the home of Micro Bar+Bites, Plan B Barbers and Pho Soc Vietnamese restaurant

- and a newer building at 1180 Sunset Dr. that Scutt had constructed to house Bouchons Bistro with offices upstairs and even a residential unit that he and Vaughn used to live in

"Bill's legacy is these buildings," said Vaughn.

"He had faith in downtown and keeping heritage for modern use. It was never about the money for Bill. He was so conscientious and detail-oriented. He wanted to restore buildings and get the right mix of tenants in them so they could all succeed."

Vaughn said Scutt's portfolio is well-organized and will continue to be operated as a going concern by her, Scutt's assistant and associates.

"We knew Bill as our landlord," said Jim Meiklejohn of Meiklejohn Architects, which has offices at 233 Bernard Ave., in one of the handsome brick buildings, of course.

"One thing we really appreciate about Bill was his passion for downtown Kelowna. A fun fact in that regard is that when we were looking to relocate our office to downtown Kelowna, we found a few locations in older buildings that we thought could be interesting. We were surprised to find that Bill owned all the buildings we liked and we then became a tenant for more than 20 years."

Meiklejohn also remembers how Scutt helped to clean up the alleyway between two buildings he owned so it could be repurposed as a walkway and summer home for the Laneway Cantina operated by Earls as a taco stand, bar and patio.

Outside of business, Scutt also accumulated many friends from his days as a ski instructor at Big White in the 1970s and continued to have ties to the resort because he owned property there and lived there every winter for the past 15 years with Vaughn.

His other passions were waterskiing and wakeboarding, thus his membership at Kelowna Yacht Club and it being chosen as the venue for his celebration of life.

Scutt's obituary is here:

https://www.springfieldfuneralhome.com/obituaries/scutt-bill/