Prime on the Plaza begins its rise

MacDonald Development / Reliance Properties’ Prime on The Plaza has begun its rise over the past few weeks. As of February 23, the retail / townhouse podium of the building had reached 2 storeys, and is now starting to transform the streetscape along University Drive. The podium, which will contain retail fronting University Drive, and townhouse units fronting 103 Ave, will soon rise to a height of 4 storeys before transitioning to the tower portion of the building, which will then rise to 37 storeys. When complete, the building will anchor a newly created corner intersection at future 103 Avenue and University Drive. It will also directly abut the future SFU Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering building, currently under construction to the south.

http://www.liveprime.ca/en/

Sneak Peak at Anthem Properties upcoming Surrey City Centre development

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Anthem Properties has revealed a sneak peak of their upcoming Surrey City Centre project at King George Blvd and 102 Avenue. Since submitting a Development Application back in October 2016, a conceptual rendering has since been posted on the Anthem Properties project page, along with a proposed site plan. Details at this time are limited, but what is known is:

The project is described as a 1,500,000 sq.ft. master planned community with a total of 7 residential towers above newly created retail and office spaces.
The current parcel will broken up into 7 new sites, containing a mix of commercial retail, office, and residential uses, with a residential tower on each site.
2 new east-west streets will be introduced (102A Ave and 103 Ave), 1 new north-south street (136A St), and 1 new north-south ‘urban green lane’.
The project is consistent with the City Centre Plan for this area

Conceptual Rendering of future 102A Avenue through site

Proposed site plan: https://anthemproperties.com/content/site_plans/0244_SitePlan.pdf

Existing site containing a Save-On-Foods, Canadian Tire, and A&W

From the conceptual rendering and site plan released, it’s apparent that:

There will be a central plaza at the heart of the development with a public art installation and a full-service restaurant with patio space fronting onto the plaza.
Townhouses will be located towards the north of the site.
Commercial retail units will be located at ground level throughout the development.
An office entrance is shown fronting King George Blvd indicating office uses may be concentrated on upper levels fronting KGB.

Curiously, some brand placement has been shown on the early rendering, including Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo. It is unclear at this time whether this is purely aspirational placement, or if Anthem is eyeing these particular tenants for the development. Uniqlo recently entered the Canadian market in 2016 with 2 stores in Toronto. It is expected that they will also enter the Vancouver market within the next few years, timing right with Anthem’s Surrey City Centre development.

Development Phasing

While the timeline of the project is unclear, it is clear that the project will be developed in phases, likely corresponding with the sites shown on the plan, beginning with Site 1.

Site 1, which is currently under application with the City, is located at the bottom of the property near the corner of 102 Ave and Whalley Blvd. It appears that this site will contain a 30-storey residential tower, ground-level retail, and what looks to be big-box type retail on the 2nd or 3rd floors. Details on the plan indicate the possibly of this being a grocery store, possibly a relocated Save-On-Foods from its existing location to the north on the property.

It is expected that the project could appear before council sometime later this year.

Surrey population surpasses 500,000; doubles Vancouver in growth

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Surrey City Centre on February 7, 2017

Census data released today by Statistics Canada has revealed that Surrey’s population has surpassed 500,000. As of May 2016 last year, the population of Surrey was 517,887, an increase from 468,251 in 2011 representing a growth rate of 10.6%, outpacing the national average, British Columbia, the City of Vancouver, and the Vancouver CMA.

In comparison, between 2011 and 2016:

Canada as a whole grew by 5.0%
British Columbia grew by 5.6%
City of Vancouver grew by 4.6%
Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA): 6.5%

The only Vancouver CMA municipality to grow faster than Surrey was the Township of Langley which grew at a rapid 12.6%. As a whole, the Vancouver CMA grew to 2,463,431.

With Surrey adding an average of 1,000 new residents per month, as of February 2017, the population of Surrey can be estimated to have already increased further to 525,000. It is expected that Surrey will surpass Vancouver in population to become the largest city in BC by 2030.

Looking at growth by Census Tract, the areas of Surrey growing the fastest were in the south and east, in places such as Grandview Heights, Sunnyside Heights, South Newton, and Clayton. There was also noticeably strong growth in Surrey City Centre as a result of new condo developments in recent years, with one Census Tract east of King George Blvd and south of 104th Avenue growing by 33%. This growth in City Centre will likely increase even more by the 2021 Census, with more new condo developments expected to be completed within City Centre in the next 5 years than in the previous 5 years.

Developable land and affordability in comparison to Vancouver can both be seen as driving factors in Surrey’s strong growth.

Growth rate by Census Tract in Metro Vancouver

Growth rate by Census Tract in North Surrey – Area east of King George Blvd and south of 104th Ave grew by 33%.

https://censusmapper.ca/maps/583#11/49.2613/-123.1145

Looking at growth in absolute numbers. Surrey outpaced every municipality within Metro Vancouver by a large margin, adding a total of 49,636 residents between 2011 and 2016. Vancouver came in second adding 27,984 new residents.

Population Growth of Metro Vancouver cities 2011-2016

	2016	2011	Total Growth
Metropolitan Vancouver	2,463,431	2,313,328	150,103
Surrey	517,887	468,251	49,636
City of Vancouver	631,486	603,502	27,984
Langley	117,285	104,177	13,108
Coquitlam	139,284	126,804	12,480
Burnaby	232,755	223,218	9,537
Richmond	198,309	190,473	7,836
Maple Ridge	82,256	76,052	6,204
New Westminster	70,996	65,976	5,020
North Vancouver	52,898	48,196	4,702
Port Coquitlam	58,612	55,958	2,654
Delta	102,238	99,863	2,375
North Vancouver	85,935	84,412	1,523
Pitt Meadows	18,573	17,736	837
Langley	25,888	25,081	807
White Rock	19,952	19,339	613
Port Moody	33,551	33,011	540
West Vancouver	42,473	42,694	-221

Major upgrade of 100 Avenue to begin this month

Work is set to begin this month on a major, long overdue upgrade to 100 Avenue. On February 6, Surrey City Council awarded a contract in the amount of $8.8 million to Eurovia British Columbia Inc. for widening and improvements to a stretch of 100 Avenue between 140th Street and 148th Street connecting Surrey City Centre to Guildford. As part of the project, 100 Avenue will be upgraded from a single lane in each direction to a proper 4-lane, median-separated, arterial road standard with improved street lighting, sidewalks, and grade-separated bike lanes. In addition, a new pedestrian path will also be added through Green Timbers Park on the south side of 100 Avenue, along with new signalized intersections at 144th Street, and at the entrance to an expanded Green Timbers parking lot. 100A Avenue between 141 Street and 143 Street will also be upgraded as part of the project, improving access to Lena Shaw Elementary School.

Prior to the awarding of the project, a public consultation meeting was held to present plans and receive public feedback. Through the process, a custom road cross-section was created for 100 Avenue which focused on minimizing the impacts on trees, specifically those adjacent to Green Timbers Park. Sustainable design features such as rain gardens, low-UV street lighting, low acoustic pavement design, and wildlife crossings were also incorporated as a result of feedback. When completed in Spring 2018, the 100 Avenue upgrade will offer a better alternative to 104th Avenue, relieve traffic congestion, and improve the connection between Surrey City Centre and Guildford.

For more:

https://surrey.ca/city-services/21331.aspx

New 6-Storey residential development at Fraser Hwy & 140th seeks approval

A proposed new 6-storey residential development at the corner of Fraser Hwy and 140th St is heading to Council on Monday for 1st & 2nd reading. The 121-unit building, designed by Richmond-based DF Architecture features condos above a 2-storey townhouse base with private staircase/patio entrances fronting directly onto 140th St and Fraser Hwy to create an urban, pedestrian-oriented streetscape.

Situated in the south-east corner of City Centre within the West Green Timbers neighbourhood, the proposed building is consistent with the City Centre Plan for this area, which is primarily designated for 4-6-storey multiple residential buildings. The future Fraser Hwy LRT line connecting Surrey City Centre to Langley will eventually provide rapid transit access directly outside the building with a future station to be located on the same corner of 140th & Fraser Hwy. Green Timbers Park is located directly to the east of the site.

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PHOTO UPDATE: Gateway Place by BOSA

BOSA Properties’ Gateway Place is nearing completion at 108 Ave & City Parkway near Gateway Skytrain Station. The 5-storey office and retail building which began construction back in 2015 was originally scheduled for completion in Summer 2016, but with slow-pace of construction, is now more on track for a Summer 2017 completion. When finished, the building will house 4 levels of office over ground floor retail, with a Nesters Market, Shoppers Drug Mart, and TD Bank already signed on as tenants.

Designed by IBI Group Architects, the building will bring an improved urban streetscape to the area, with high quality landscape design and materials to be included as part of the sidewalk along City Parkway. The building will also feature a living green wall along its western side facing Station Tower and the SkyTrain. The building is Phase A of a 3-Phase development which will see 2 high-rise residential towers constructed directly north of the retail podium along City Parkway as future Phases B and C.