Surrey’s annual PARKit pop-up park has returned for another summer in City Centre. Since 2013, the park has been a fixture through the summer months as an installation underneath the SkyTrain guideway next to Surrey Central Station. Students from UBC’s School of Landscape Architecture have competed on winning designs for the park each year.

This year, the park has moved to a new location in the Central City Plaza to celebrate Canada150 – Canada’s 150th Birthday. The installation’s theme is ‘A Canadian Summer’ and incorporates elements of a classic Canadian summer day spent relaxing at the lake with a picnic. The park features an outdoor public piano within a tent-shaped structure, numerous picnic tables, iconic Muskoka chairs, tree planters, a make-believe lake, and a dock. This year’s park was designed by Amy Tsang.

The park will be in place through the summer until September 11.

Vancouver developer Rize is set to bring their latest and most ambitious project to date before Surrey Council on Monday for 1st & 2nd Readings, and approval to proceed to Public Hearing. Passages as it’s called, is a proposed master-planned mixed-use development at 10138 Whalley Blvd consisting of market condos, market rental apartments, retail, and daycare space, all situated within a European-style ‘piazza’ public plaza. In total the project is proposing:

• 3 High-Rise towers and 1 Low-Rise (6, 23, 32 & 39 Storeys) containing 954 Market Condo Residential Units
• 2 Mid-Rise towers (13 Storeys each) containing 172 Market Rental Residential Units
• 18,116 sq.ft. of Ground Level Retail Space
• 4,252 sq.ft. of Daycare Space
• A 69,602 sq.ft. Publicly Accessible ‘Piazza’-Style Public Plaza

Rendering of central public ‘Piazza’ space within Passages development

Designed by London, UK based Alison Brooks Architects, Passages brings a fresh departure from the standard point tower above podium form, commonly found throughout Metro Vancouver. Instead, the project consists of 6 irregularly-shaped buildings of varying heights, clustered around a ‘Piazza’-style public plaza.

The design takes inspiration from coastal BC forests, incorporating references to ‘textured tree bark’ on building facades, and the use of earth tones and materials. Interspersed single and double-storey units are present throughout the towers, adding variation in form and glazing pattern. The 6-storey building is a modern interpretation of the traditional ‘British mansion block’ merged with ground floor townhouses.

The site’s perimeter and courtyard are structured as open, barrier-free spaces that the public and residents can share and enjoy. A series of four distinct piazzas, City Piazza, Park Piazza, Central Piazza and Neighbourhood Piazza, are linked by narrow urban groves between buildings and enriched streetscape edges.

The Landscape Architect on the project is Vancouver’s PWL Partnership tasked with designing the publicly accessibly open spaces comprised of the four landscaped piazzas. These spaces are animated with community agricultural gardens, an urban square with seating, a children’s play area, a great lawn for event and performance space, a yoga and exercise zone, a community harvest table, and an outdoor barbeque and games table space to encourage the public and residents to interact and socialize.

Passages will replace two existing and aging, wood-frame, 4-storey apartment buildings known as Fraserview Court, built in the 1970’s. Rize is proposing to offset the loss of the 154 existing rental residential units on site by providing 172 new rental residential units in two new 13-Storey concrete mid-rises as part of re-development. These rental units will be secured for a period of 20-years, through a Housing Agreement with the City. Rize is also assisting existing residents facing displacement through a City policy directed Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan.

The project is proposed to be built in 3 phases, which includes:

Phase 1 (Targeted Completion: May 2023)

• 13-Storey Mid-Rise with Market Rental Residential (88 Units), Ground Floor Cafe, and Daycare
• 23-Storey High-Rise with Market Condo Residential (212 Units)

Phase 2 (Targeted Completion: June 2024)

• 6-Storey Low-Rise with Market Condo Residential (66 Units)
• 32-Storey High-Rise with Market Condo Residential (304 Units), and Ground Level Retail

Phase 3 (Targeted Completion: August 2024)

• 13-Storey Mid-Rise with Market Rental Residential (84 Units), and Ground Level Retail
• 39-Storey High-Rise with Market Condo Residential (372 Units)

In terms of approvals, the development is seeking:

• City Centre Plan amendment to increase density on the site from 3.5 FAR to 5.5 FAR
• Official Community Plan amendment to increase density on the site from 3.5 FAR to 5.5 FAR
• Rezoning from Multiple Residential 45 Zone to Comprehensive Development Zone (Based on RM-135 & C-8)
• Subdivision from 1 to 3 lots
• Development Permit to allow for 3 High-Rise Buildings, 2 Mid-Rise Buildings, and 1 Low-Rise Building.

For more information on Passages:

https://www.surrey.ca/bylawsandcouncillibrary/PLR_7918-0289-00.pdf

An open house was held on Nov 30 to discuss the future of Forsyth Park, a new 3 hectare park in the north-east area of the City Centre near 106th & 140th St. The City of Surrey has been acquiring properties for the park since 1989 and is now ready to embark on its first phase of development, beginning with public consultation and design this winter, and moving into construction by summer in time for a fall 2017 opening. With the area slowly starting to densify with recent multi-family projects such as Porte Communities’ HQ directly south of the park, the timing is now right to develop such an amenity space in the area.

As part of the open house that was held, a number of display boards were presented that provided a preliminary concept of what the park may look like, with this likely to be modified based on comments received from the open house. The park is envisioned to be a ‘Contemporary Urban Place’ for neighbourhood residents to enjoy the outdoors, play, and bring their dogs. One of the boards also provided a glimpse of how this park will tie into a network of greenways, spaces, and parks throughout the city centre as it develops over the next few decades. This illustrative plan also gives a good impression of how the City Centre itself will transform over-time, with a finer grained street grid, and a more compact urban form. See below for images.

http://www.surrey.ca/culture-recreation/2076.aspx

Illustrative Plan close-up of the Surrey Central area:

Illustrative Plan close-up of the King George area:

With Doug McCallum’s win in last weekend’s election, Surrey appears to be in for change. Campaigning heavily on LRT and Safety, the topic of discussion now is whether he will deliver on his promise to ‘scrap’ LRT and ‘replace’ it with SkyTrain. It appears the majority of Surrey residents are in favour of this – fuelled by non-stop negative publicity of LRT in the media – but what does an LRT to SkyTrain ‘switch’ actually mean for Surrey? A few key implications to consider:

SkyTrain vs LRT – 2 different routes

A misconception that many who ‘voted’ for SkyTrain over LRT may have may have is that the proposed LRT will simply be ‘switched’ to SkyTrain. This is not the case – each would run along a different route. Let’s look at the difference:

LRT – City Centre-Newton-Guildford: The proposed ‘Phase 1’ LRT route – with secured funding and significant planning and design work already completed – is planned run from Guildford along 104 Avenue to City Centre, then south on King George Blvd to Newton. This is known as the ‘L’ Line or Surrey-Netwon-Guildford Line – serving Surrey’s most populated, and urban town centres.

Phase 1 LRT route along 104 Ave & King George Blvd + future Phase 2 route to Langley

SkyTrain – Fraser Highway: Doug McCallum’s SkyTrain – which would need to be planned and designed from scratch – would provide no rapid transit to Guildford or Newton (Surrey’s most populated / urban town centres) – but instead be an extension of the existing Expo Line down Fraser Highway to Fleetwood, Cloverdale (Surrey’s least populated / urban town centres) and Langley.

SkyTrain extension to Langley along Fraser Hwy through low density suburbs / ALR to Langley

The Land-Use Difference

LRT: The proposed ‘Phase 1’ LRT route would serve Surrey’s most established urban corridors with the highest densities – 104 Avenue and King George Blvd. Guildford Town Centre contains the regions 2nd largest shopping centre, numerous high-rises and offices. Further, the currently underway Guildford-104 Avenue Corridor Plan which is set to become adopted in 2019, has designated land all along 104 Avenue between City Centre and Guildford for increased urban densities appropriate for a rapid transit corridor. A similar plan is set to follow for the King George corridor between City Centre and Newton. Simply put – 104 Avenue and King George Blvd are the most appropriate corridors for initial rapid transit expansion in Surrey due to their already underway land-use planning for higher density, and their existing densities, land-use, and most urban character of Surrey’s corridors.

Phase 1 LRT route along existing urban corridors with planned density Guildford – 104 Avenue Corridor Plan – urban density planned along LRT route

SkyTrain: Doug McCallum’s SkyTrain would run down Fraser Highway which currently has no land-use plans for significant urban density underway, and is currently of the lowest density and suburban of corridors in Surrey. The SkyTrain route would run through:

• Green Timbers Forest for the first 2km of its route
• the low density suburban neighbourhood of Fleetwood for the next 5km
• ALR farm land for the next 2km
• and finally low density suburban Clayton/Cloverdale and Langley for the remaining 6km of the route

This route would have the lowest densities of any SkyTrain corridor in the region – including significant stretches through forest and ALR farm land – unseen anywhere else on the SkyTrain system. SkyTrain along Fraser Highway would require significant land-use changes along Fraser Highway to justify it – including significant increases in density, high-rise towers, and transit-oriented development – similar to elsewhere along the SkyTrain network. This would require changes to the Official Community Plan (OCP) – ironically Doug McCallum campaigned against OCP amendments.

Simply put – this type of development is incompatible with the scale and character of the Fraser Highway corridor that is predominantly newer single family homes and townhomes. Many living along that corridor would surely object to such drastic land-use changes appropriate for a SkyTrain line.

SkyTrain extension through low density suburbs / ALR with no planned urban density

From a land-use planning perspective – it makes the most sense to serve the highest density corridors and urban centres (104 Avenue – King George Blvd) with rapid transit prior to lower density corridors such as Fraser Highway. Instead, a SkyTrain extension over LRT would do the exact opposite of what makes sense. While it is important to provide a rapid transit link to Langley, and connect the communities of Fleetwood, Clayton/Cloverdale with regional rapid transit – from a land-use and planning perspective these areas are lower priority than Guildford and Newton – and Fraser Highway does not have density appropriate for SkyTrain. In an ideal world, Langley would be serviced by long-distance commuter rail such as all-day WestCoast Express – but realistically – LRT may be the best option for serving Langley down Fraser Highway as a Phase 2 project – given the density, scale, and character of that corridor.

Uncertain Timeline

LRT: Funding for the proposed ‘Phase 1’ LRT route is “in the mail” from the Federal and Provincial Governments. Significant planning, consultation work, and design has been underway for years, and the project is now at the procurement stage with construction set to begin in 2019 and completion by 2024.

LRT scheduled to begin construction in 2019 – years of planning, consultation, design already complete.

SkyTrain: Doug McCallum claims that secured funding for LRT can simply be ‘switched’ to fund a SkyTrain extension to Langley instead of the Guildford Newton line. While this may be possible, as the funding doesn’t specify a type of rail – the fact is – no planning, consultation, or design work has been completed on a SkyTrain extension down Fraser Highway. The amount of time and additional resources that would need to go into a SkyTrain extension prior to its construction would not only delay the project for an unforeseen number of extra years – pushing completion of this line to the late 2020’s.

By that time, Phase 2 of the LRT is likely to be under construction – resulting in Surrey having 2 new rapid transit lines by the late 2020’s instead of just a single SkyTrain extension down low-density Fraser Hwy within the same time frame.

While these reasons aren’t exhaustive in the debate – they are very key ones that have been surprisingly absent talking points. Surrey residents may not have been the best informed on the SkyTrain vs LRT debate thanks to the media – to make an educated decision that weighs more factors than just ‘speed of service’ and ‘glamour of SkyTrain vs LRT’ – but in the end it may not matter. The LRT project is likely too far along at this stage and with too much else to consider to simply be ‘switched’. It is being led by non-partisan land-use and transit planning experts in the Planning & Transportation Departments (not the former Mayor or Councillors as some may believe) – experts who should be leading such projects – rather than transit planning on a whim by politicians and voters.

Excavation got underway this week for Rize Alliance’s 28-storey Linea at 104 Avenue and 133 Street. Linea is phase 2 to its predecessor and twin ‘Wave’ which was completed in 2015. Upon completion, both towers will stand at 28-storeys and feature the same signature curved balconies and orange accents.

In addition to the new tower, Linea will also improve the streetscapes along 133 Street and 104 Avenue with new street-oriented townhouses, add a common outdoor amenity area between the 2 towers, and create a new north-south lane to the east of the site. Completion is expected by early 2022.

Linea site from Wave tower Linea site from 133 Street Rendering of Linea and Wave Ground level Site Plan of Wave and Linea site Rooftop Site Plan of Wave and Linea site

Well known Vancouver developer Anthem Properties has recently posted information on their website indicating that they are working on plans for a substaintial redevelopment of a large site in Surrey City Centre at 13645 102 Avenue. According to the project page on their website, they have revealed that they are working on a new 1,500,000 Sq.Ft. Master planned community which will consist of 7 residential towers above newly created retail and office spaces. While no plans have yet been released, the website indicates that the project is ‘coming soon’ with no timeline given.

At present, the subject site contains a Save-on-Foods, Canadian Tire, and A&W Restaurant, and is mostly covered by a large under-utilized parking lot. Under the City Centre Plan, the site is designated to be broken up by 2 new roads running east-west, as well as a new ‘urban green lane’ running north-south. One of the new roads will be an extension of 102A Avenue, which is set to replace the Surrey Central Bus Loop and be created through other projects in the area such as the SFU expansion and recently announced 50-Storey Education Centre. The other road will be an extension of 103 Avenue which is also being created through developments in the area. The Anthem project will extend both of these streets through to Whalley Blvd in the east, improving both vehicle and pedestrian connectivity in the area.

Construction fencing is now up at the SFU Sustainable Energy & Environmental Engineering Building site at 102 Ave & University Dr. While the project has not yet received 4th reading / final approval from Surrey City Council, this is a good indication that they expect to soon, and are aiming to get a head start on site preparation so that clearing and excavation can begin this fall.

It also now appears that the remaining house to the adjacent north of the site on 102A Ave may be set to be demolished soon as well, with numerous construction trailers now on the property. The vacant lots further to the north of it have also seen some site cleaning this week, perhaps indicating that trees on those properties could soon be removed. These properties have been indicated as a future site for an SFU residence tower, as well as new Urban Green Lane which will run behind the new SFU Building.

More on the SFU Surrey Expansion:

SFU Surrey Expansion

Update: SFU Surrey Expansion

Making big news this week was the much-anticipated announcement of redevelopment plans for the Stardust Roller Rink site in the heart of Surrey Central at 10240 City Parkway. Major Surrey developer WestStone Group which owns the site announced that they are partnering with CIBT Education Group to develop a 50-Storey “Education Mega Centre” on the site. This major redevelopment is intended to provide space for educational institutions as well as short-term and long-term affordable accommodations for international students. From the press-release:

• It is being proposed that the podium of the Mega Center (levels 1 to 2) will provide for many supporting amenities such as a food court, student lounge, computer centre, electronic library, conference rooms as well as office space for education consultants and other industry related services.
• Levels 3 to 6 will be leased to 20 educational institutions from around the world as their satellite campuses in Surrey.
• Levels 8 to 26 will be comprised of residential suites designed for long term stay international students.
• Levels 7 and 27 will be comprised of amenity space such as fitness centre and lounges for long term residents and student hotel guests.
• Upper floors from level 28 to 49 will be GEC’s flagship student hotel for short term stays.
• Level 50 will be the front desk and check in area for the student hotel.
• The Mega Center will consist of approximately 550,000 square feet and a development budget of $230 million.

While no application has yet been submitted, it is expected that one could be submitted by later this fall. No mention of when the project is anticipated to be completed by, but it’s likely that it could begin construction by 2018 and finish by 2020/21.

In addition to the major transformative impact this project will have on a key site in Surrey City Centre, the project will also initiate a new dedication of 102A Avenue which will eventually connect through to King George Blvd, and align west replacing the Surrey Central Bus Loop, connecting with the existing 102A Avenue at University Drive. The tower’s height is expected to be similar to the under construction 48-storey 3 Civic Plaza a block away, and will add to the growing concentration of towers as well as educational institutions in the area.

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

The March Issue of the City Centre Update is now available at SurreyCityCentre.ca. This month’s newsletter includes a round-up of new Development Applications, Council Approvals, and Construction activity during the past month of February.

New Development Applications

There were no new major development applications submitted in City Centre during February 2021.

As of March 2021, there are 30 major development applications under initial review (pre-council), consisting of approximately 34 towers, and 21 low-rises.

Major development applications under initial review as of March 2021

Council Approvals

Two major projects received 3rd Reading (Preliminary Approval) from Surrey City Council in February 2021. These included GEC Education Mega Centre, a 49-Storey Mixed- use tower, and Bosa’s Brightside, a 4-tower mixed-use development ranging in heights from 38-51 Storeys.

As of March 2021, there are 34 approved major projects in City Centre, consisting of 43 towers, and 22 low-rises.

Approved major development applications as of March 2021

18 – 0350 | Brightside

Bosa’s Brightside re-appeared before Surrey City Council in February 2021 after having been previously approved back in March 2020. The application has been amended to include an additional tower (previously under a separate application), as well as some minor revisions to the original proposal. The application now consists of 4 towers (38, 46, 50 & 51-Storeys) surrounding 2 low-rise retail & amenity buildings, to be built over a number of phases. Phase 1 is to include a 38-Storey rental residential tower on the corner of City Parkway & 104 Avenue.

Address:	104 Ave & City Parkway
Proposal:	38, 46, 50 & 51-Storey Mixed-Use (1,840 units, 239,421 SF office/retail)
Developer:	Bosa BlueSky
Architect:	Perkins + Will
Expected Completion:	2025 (Phase 1)

20 – 0071 | GEC Education Mega Centre

GEC Education Mega Centre also re-appeared before Surrey City Council in February 2021 after having been previously approved back in October 2017 under a separate application. The revised application now includes a 49-storey mixed-use tower consisting of 383 market

& rental residential units, 78,490 SF of office & institutional space, and 4,973 SF of retail. The project will also dedicate and construct a new portion of 102A Avenue through the site which is to eventually connect east to King George Blvd and beyond.

Address:	102A Ave & City Parkway
Proposal:	49-Storey Mixed-Use (383 units, 83,468 SF office/retail, institutional)
Developer:	CIBT / WestStone Group
Architect:	Chris Dikeakos
Expected Completion:	2025

Construction

No new projects began construction during January 2021, however one project finished construction (Central City Parkade), and one project began demolition, after having been halted in Fall 2020 (La Voda – 6-Storey Residential).

As of February 2021, there are 16 projects under construction in City Centre, representing 15 high-rises (>6 Storeys) and 6 low-rises (4-6-storeys).

Major projects under construction as of March 2021 Camellia Seniors Living – 132 St & 109 Ave Georgetown One by Anthem beginning to transform the corner of 102 Ave & Whalley Blvd Linea nearing completion at the corner of 133 St & 104 Ave Surrey’s next tallest – One Central beginning to rise in West Village Excavation underway at Park George on 100 Ave Rosewood Supportive Housing project rising above ground on 137 St King George Hub residential towers and retail nearing completion along Fraser Highway City Centre 3 nearing completion at 96 Ave & 137A St

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 St Linea by Rize under construction at 104 Ave & 133 St King George Hub (Phase B) under construction at King George Blvd & Fraser Hwy Park Boulevard under construction on Whalley Blvd near 100 Ave King George Hub B & Park Boulevard as seen from Fraser Hwy Georgetown One under excavation at Whalley Blvd & 102 Ave City Centre 3 by Lark Group under construction on 96 Ave Aspire recently completed on 101 Ave near Whalley Blvd Prime completed in Fall 2019 at University Dr & Central Ave HQ by Porte at 140 St & 105A Ave completed early 2019 Evolve completed in 2019 at Central Ave & 133 St SFU Sustainable Energy & Environmental Engineering Building completed in Spring 2019 Surrey Central Station expansion completed in Spring 2019 West 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 (

Invest Surrey held an inaugural launchpad event today at Surrey City Hall hosted by Mayor Linda Hepner, featuring a number of speakers and panelists, discussing the future of Surrey and investment opportunities in the rapidly growing and changing city. The event was structured around a number of topics throughout the course of the day on the keynote theme ‘Transformation 2.0’ covering:

• Entertainment & Lifestyle
• Digital Information & Communication Technology
• Research & Development/Innovation
• Industrial, Transportation, & Logistics
• Housing Diversity

‘Central City 2’ Announced

At the event, a few major announcements were made, including an announcement by Blackwood Partners, owners of the Central City office, shopping centre, and university complex, that they will be moving forward with a successor tower named ‘Central City 2’.

While few details have been released so far, what is known is that the tower is proposed as a AAA mixed-use office tower at the corner of King George Blvd & Old Yale Rd on the site of what is currently a former Best Buy. The tower is situated directly across from Holland Park as well as King George Skytrain Station to the south. A rendering released at the event shows a oval shaped tower similar to the original Central City tower, fit within a more rectangular outer shell. There is also a large curved podium and generous plaza space meeting the intersection and extending underneath the podium

According to the City Centre Plan, the tower will occupy an entire new block, with a new lane proposed to the north of the building. This proposal sets the stage for the redevelopment of the remaining parking lot along King George Blvd into similar sized blocks, perhaps with a ‘Central City 3’ tower to follow at 102 & King George Blvd in the future.

‘Central City 2’ site within City Centre Plan

It’s unclear at this time who Blackwood Partners is working with as an Architect, or partnering developer, or how soon this proposal could get moving. As of now, no application has yet to appear on Surrey’s COSMOS mapping information system. The project also has yet to appear before Surrey’s Advisory Design Panel (ADP), meaning the design pictured in the rendering could still undergo revision.

Upon submission of an application, it could likely take up to 2 years before we see construction begin, and another 2-3 years to build. The project could perhaps move faster if fast tracked under Surrey’s Nexus program, but likely completion won’t be until the early 2020’s.

New Art Gallery Announced

In addition to the ‘Central City 2’ office tower announcement, it was also announced that the Surrey Art Gallery will be relocating to Surrey City Centre as a new ‘Interactive Art Museum’ slated to become the largest of its kind in Canada.

More details on both the ‘Central City 2’ tower and new Interactive Art Gallery as they come.

For more on Invest Surrey’s event today:

https://investsurrey.ca/launchpad