A 26-Storey residential tower proposed at Central Ave and 133 St in the growing West Village neighbourhood received Preliminary Approval following Public Hearing on January 13. The project, named ‘CityWalk’ and being developed by Huacheng Holdings is located directly across from the new West Village District Energy Centre and Park, as well as the recently completed Evolve tower.
Designed by Wilson Chang Architect, the project is to include 223 units within a 26-storey tower above a 4-storey podium with ground-oriented townhouse units at the base fronting along Central Ave and 133 St. The building is intended to transition height from taller towers east of the site, down to a low to mid-rise form west of the site along 132 St at the edge of City Centre.
Perspective view looking north-east with 36-storey Evolve across the streetView facing south-west from 133 St & Central AveView facing north from proposed Public PathwayView facing north west from 133 St
As part of the Landscape Plan prepared for the site by Vancouver’s ETA Landscape Architecture, a public walkway is proposed along the south side of the building, lending the project its name. This pathway will connect to an existing public walkway across the street to the east between the Evolve and Ultra towers, and eventually extend further east through to Civic Plaza as more projects develop. A green-roof is also proposed as part of the plan on top of the low-rise podium.
Additionally as part of the project, Central Avenue will see its remaining south half dedicated and constructed west of 133 St for the length of the site, inclusive of a separated bike lane to match the already constructed north side of the street.
Having now received 3rd Reading, the project can be expected to receive Final Approval within a year, and completion likely by 2024-5.
With the new year upon us, it’s time for this blog’s annual review of the past year in Surrey City Centre, as well as a look at what can be expected ahead in 2020. Additionally this year, we will also take a look back at the past decade, which saw accelerating growth and transformation in City Centre, a trend likely to persist as Surrey’s downtown becomes further established, and continues to attract more people, businesses, institutions, and jobs.
Growth in 2019
Construction activity in Surrey City Centre reached record levels in 2019, with many projects approved in previous years entering the construction phase, joining others already under construction, and others completing. Overall 2019 construction activity is summarized below:
6 significant projects began construction
One Central | 44 Storeys
Georgetown One | 30 Storeys
Linea | Residential | 28 Storeys
Veterans Village | Mixed-Use | 20 Storeys
Camellia | Residential | 5 Storeys
La Voda | Residential | 6 Storeys
7 significant projects continued construction
King George Hub B | Residential, Office, Retail | 15 + 29 + 40 Storeys
Park Boulevard | Residential | 39 Storeys
King George Hub C | Rental Residential | 34 Storeys
City Centre 3 | Office, Retail | 10 Storeys
Fraser Landmark | Residential | 6 Storeys
Maverick | Residential | 5 Storeys
13904 102 Ave | Residential | 4 Storeys
8 significant projects completed construction
Prime | Residential, Office, Retail | 37 Storeys
Evolve | Residential, Office, Retail | 36 Storeys
Aspire | Residential | 6 Storeys
Porte HQ | Residential | 6 Storeys
SFU Sustainable Energy & Environmental Engineering Building | 5 Storeys
9909 140 St | Residential | 4 Storeys
Surrey Central Station Expansion
West Village Park & District Energy Centre
One Central under excavation at Central Ave & 133A StLinea by Rize under construction at 104 Ave & 133 StKing George Hub (Phase B) under construction at King George Blvd & Fraser HwyPark Boulevard under construction on Whalley Blvd near 100 AveKing George Hub B & Park Boulevard as seen from Fraser HwyGeorgetown One under excavation at Whalley Blvd & 102 AveCity Centre 3 by Lark Group under construction on 96 AveAspire recently completed on 101 Ave near Whalley BlvdPrime completed in Fall 2019 at University Dr & Central AveHQ by Porte at 140 St & 105A Ave completed early 2019Evolve completed in 2019 at Central Ave & 133 StSFU Sustainable Energy & Environmental Engineering Building completed in Spring 2019Surrey Central Station expansion completed in Spring 2019West Village Park & District Energy Centre completed in Spring 2019
As for new Development Applications, 2019 saw a drop from 2018’s record number of 25 applications, to 19 new applications. This is still well above all previous years in the decade between 2010 and 2017, indicating continued strong interest from the development community in 2019. These 19 new Development Applications included approximately 21 towers (>6 Storeys) and 14 low-rises (4-6 Storeys), comprising over 7,200 units and over 300,000 sq.ft. of commercial space in 2019 applications alone.
As of January 2020, in total there are currently 65 significant active applications either under review, approved, or under construction in City Centre consisting of approximately 69 high rises (>6 Storeys) and 44 low-rises (<6 Storeys), representing approximately 23,000 units and over 1,650,000 sq.ft. of commercial space. More info on all active projects can be found on the Active Projects in City Centre page.
Looking ahead to 2020
2019’s drop in Development Applications from that of 2018 can perhaps be seen as symptom of the cooling real estate market from its peak in 2017. Despite this drop, Development Application activity in City Centre remains strong, and can be expected to continue in 2020 with many new projects known to be in the early planning stages, likely to submit applications within the coming year. Of these, we’re likely to find out more details on the much anticipated Centre Block redevelopment (former North Surrey Rec Centre), rumoured to include significant office space, retail, and a further expansion of SFU, all integrated within a new transit plaza and revamped Surrey Central Station.
Aside from this, construction activity in 2020 can be expected to include:
7 significant project construction starts
University District | Residential, Retail | 28 + 37 Storeys
Park George | Residential | 35 + 39 Storeys
The Holland (Phase 1) | Residential | 25 Storeys
Central City II | Office | 25 Storeys (Potential late 2020 start)
Centra | Residential | 23 Storeys
Rosewood | Residential, Office | 5 Storeys
Parker | Residential | 4 Storeys
10 significant projects continued construction
One Central | 44 Storeys
King George Hub B | Residential, Office, Retail | 40 + 29 + 15 Storeys
Park Boulevard | Residential | 39 Storeys
King George Hub C | Rental Residential | 34 Storeys
Georgetown One | 30 Storeys
Linea | Residential | 28 Storeys
Veterans Village | Mixed-Use | 20 Storeys
City Centre 3 | Office, Retail | 10 Storeys
Camellia | Residential | 5 Storeys
La Voda | Residential | 6 Storeys
3 significant projects expected completion
Fraser Landmark | Residential | 6 Storeys
Maverick | Residential | 5 Storeys (Potential late 2020 completion)
13904 102 Ave | Residential | 4 Storeys
Aside from this, we can also expect to find out more details on a number of high profile applications currently in the initial stages of review as they proceed to Council in 2020, such as:
Bosa’s upcoming 104 Ave & City Parkway project
King George Hub (Phase D)
Plaza 104 redevelopment
Holland Parkside by Century Group
A revised proposal for the GEC Education Mega Centre
Moving beyond 2020, it’s likely we will see an even further acceleration of the strong growth trend, as 2018 and 2019’s record development applications enter the construction stage, and other yet-to-be announced transformative projects begin to take shape. Accompanying this will be the extension of SkyTrain to Langley by the mid-to-late decade, which should further position Surrey City Centre as a regional downtown, within closer commuting distance to the rapidly growing Fraser Valley than Downtown Vancouver. With all this growth, Surrey City Centre is shaping up to become a remarkably different place by the end of the 2020’s than it is today, with more transformation likely in the coming decade, than in the past, or even past two combined.
