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 street 
View facing south-west from 133 St & Central Ave 
View facing north from proposed Public Pathway 
View 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.
For more on the project https://www.surrey.ca/bylawsandcouncillibrary/PLR_7918-0125-00.pdf
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 (