Progress continues on the SFU Surrey ‘Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering Building’ at 102 Avenue and University Dr. Over the past few weeks, the site has been cleared and is now undergoing excavation to allow for the construction of a single level of underground parking below what will be a 5-storey building. Despite the activity on site, the project has yet to receive 4th-reading / final approval from the City of Surrey. The project is being fast-tracked to meet a deadline for Federal funding, which stipulates the building must be substantially completed by April 30, 2018. Preliminary Approval was granted in July, and it is expected final approval will come later this year.

More on SFU Surrey expansion:

https://urbansurrey.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/update-sfu-surrey-expansion/

https://www.surrey.ca/bylawsandcouncillibrary/CR_2016-R178.pdf

Central City Shopping Centre has recently announced plans and begun work on a major renovation of aging parts of its complex. As part of the initial phase, the 2-storey portion of the mall between Wal-Mart and T&T Supermarket is currently being updated with a new contemporary look featuring wood paneling around balcony areas and a wave-like feature in the atrium. It is expected that once this phase is completed, upgrades will be expanded to remaining portions of the mall in need of updates.

At present the mall is a haphazard mix of interiors dating from various eras of expansions and renovations. Some of the oldest portions have not been updated since the 90s when the mall was known as Surrey Place. This latest update should help to bring a cohesive look to the complex, and hopefully attract new tenants. Since opening in the 1960’s the mall has seen much transformation and numerous expansions, the most significant being the addition of SFU and the Office Tower in 2003. It is hoped that this latest renovation will help to attract new tenants to the shopping centre which has seen a resurgence of activity lately, with the mall now busier than it’s been in over a decade thanks to the mix of uses in the complex. The Central City leasing brochure currently shows a large section in the centre of the mall where a corridor used to be as up for lease. It’s anticipated that a future phase of renovations will involve the re-opening of this wing adding new retail space and improved mall connectivity.

Beyond this current wave of renovation there remains the potential for even further evolution of the complex, particularly where surface parking now exists along its King George Blvd frontage, as well as its frontage facing Holland Park along Old Yale Rd. These two sides of the mall hold tremendous opportunity for re-development and transformation of the shopping centre as Surrey City Centre grows, and Central City evolves into Surrey’s key downtown destination shopping centre.

http://www.centralcity.ca

Another hotel is coming to City Centre. On Monday, council gave third reading / preliminary approval to a proposed 30-storey mixed-use hotel, condo, and commercial building at the corner of King George Blvd and 98th Ave. Branded as a Hampton by Hilton, the hotel will occupy the building’s 6-storey podium, along with ground level commercial space including a wine bar. Above the podium will be amenity space on the 7th floor, and a residential tower rising to 30 floors. In total, the building will consist of:

• 181 residential dwelling units
• 112 hotel rooms
• 8 two-storey ground oriented townhouses
• 133 square metres (1,432 sq. ft.) of ground-level commercial space

Designed by Architecture 49, the building features a unique form and massing, high-quality architectural design features, with substantial glazing and a high quality material palette, including an abstract pixelated image of a British Columbia landscape on the podium’s curtain wall glass.

When complete in 2020, the hotel will become City Centre’s second hotel offering an alternative to the upscale 5-star Marriott Autograph Collection – Civic Hotel, which is scheduled to open in November 2017. It will serve the growing nearby medical / technology district known as Innovation Boulevard as well as the needs of other business and personal travellers to the area.

The building will be located directly across from PCI Group’s The Hub at King George project ‘Phase B’, which is expected to begin construction on its 3 towers around the same time as construction would begin on the hotel project in 2018.

For more information on the project:
http://www.surrey.ca/bylawsandcouncillibrary/PLR_7916-0183-00.pdf

Georgetown’s first 30-storey residential tower above grocery at 102 Ave & Whalley Blvd

Anthem Properties’ has given us a first look at the first phase of its much anticipated ‘Georgetown’ development at 102 Avenue between King George Blvd and Whalley Blvd. According to the Fall 2017 Anthem Newsletter, the project, which will include 6 residential towers in total above a mix of office, retail, and townhomes, will begin with a single 30-storey tower above a grocery store and retail at the corner of Whalley Blvd and 102 Avenue. While the render indicates a targeted construction begin date of Summer 2018, it could be more likely 2019 given the project has not yet received preliminary or final approval, and has yet to begin marketing units.

The new tower and retail will replace a standalone A&W restaurant currently on the corner, along with underutilized surface parking. The first phase will also dedicate and construct a new section of 102A Avenue through the site, connecting Whalley Blvd to King George Blvd, and eventually continue west through to the GEC Education Mega Centre and Surrey Central Station. Future phases to the north of 102A will replace the current Save-on-Foods and Canadian Tire stores with a mix of retail, residential, office, townhomes, and plaza space, along with 3 more new streets, including a new section of Central Avenue.

Overall Site Plan for Georgetown Concept Model of Georgetown

The City of Surrey’s Advisory Design Panel (ADP) has approved the design for the upcoming 55-storey Education Mega Centre, being developed by CIBT Education Group in partnership with Surrey-based WestStone Group. The height of the tower, which was previously quoted to be 50-storeys, has now been confirmed at 55-storeys, however, taking into account several double-height floors, will be the equivalent of 63-storeys reaching a total height of 625 feet. This would make the tower the tallest building in Surrey once complete, and the 2nd tallest tower in Metro Vancouver, after the Shangri-La, which is 645 Feet. The current 2nd tallest is the Trump Tower at 616 Feet.

The Education Mega Centre, was first announced back in September 2016. It will be located on City Parkway at 102 Avenue across from Surrey Central Station and next to the currently under construction 3 Civic Plaza. The Chris Dikeakos Architects designed tower will add to the growing ‘University District’ in Surrey City Centre, already home to an expanding Simon Fraser University, and soon-to-be 5-Storey KPU Campus at 3 Civic Plaza. The tower will include:

• Approximately 15 to 20 educational institutions
• Hotel and residential facilities for over 1,400 students and guests
• Supporting amenities including an electronic library, cafeteria, computer centre, study areas, quiet lounges, fitness centre, yoga room, laundry room, meeting and video conference rooms, office space and a coffee/tea lounge at the 55^th floor 600 feet above ground.

Now that the project has passed the design panel approval stage, it will move forward to Council for 1st & 2nd readings when Council returns from summer break on September 11. Further renderings and details of the project will be released at that time. The project is expected to break ground by early next year, and be complete by 2021.

Site of proposed 55-storey Education Mega Centre Rendering of the proposed 55-Storey Education Mega Centre

News Release:

http://www.cibt.net/blog/2017/07/31/cibt-reports-receipt-design-panel-approval-construct-gec-education-mega-center-surrey/

The proposed signage package for 3 Civic Plaza will appear before Council on Monday for approval. The current package is an update to a previous signage package put together back in 2014. The new package presents a more refined and unified look to the signage across the building, which will include signage for:

• Civic Hotel
• KPU
• Prado Cafe
• Dominion Bar & Kitchen
• Various Retail Units
• Various wayfinding signs around the perimeter of building

Already ahead of the Signage Development Permit approval, the main Civic Hotel logo appeared this week at the top of the 52-storey tower on the north side. A similar logo is also set to be installed on the tower’s south side.

Civic Hotel Logo installation underway on October 17 Civic Hotel Logo installation on top of the 52-Storey tower North side hotel logo fully installed on October 19

Proposed Signage Package

Rendering of Civic Hotel signage on podium Signage Package fronting Civic Plaza Signage Package on North and South sides of building Signage Package for retail frontage along City Parkway Civic Hotel signage fronting Plaza detail Civic Hotel signage on South side of podium detail KPU Signage detail on north side of podium facing Plaza Wayfinding signage detail Wayfinding signage detail Retail unit signage detail along City Parkway Retail unit ‘Arrival’ signage detail featuring signature guitar pic and diamond perforated pattern

For more details on the signage package:

https://www.surrey.ca/bylawsandcouncillibrary/PLR_7914-0112-00.pdf

WestStone Group’s Evolve project has begun to pick up pace at 133 + 103A Ave. The main tower has now reached a height of 8 floors, with pouring set to begin on the 9th floor by the end of the week. The 36-storey condo tower and accompanying 3-storey commercial building is phase 4 of the 8-phase West Village master planned neighbourhood being developed by WestStone Group. Phase 5, which will consist of a 44-storey rental tower above a 13-storey podium just east of Evolve, is expected to break ground later this year or early next. Across 133 St from Evolve work has also just begun on the new West Village Park & District Energy Centre, set to open in 2018.

For more on Evolve:

http://evolvecondos.com/

The City of Surrey has released a new video on their YouTube Channel promoting the upcoming Guildford-Newton LRT line. The line, which is expected to begin construction as early as next year, and be complete by 2023, is being used as a catalyst to transform Surrey, rather than simply move people from A-B.

Drawing from precedent in many European cities, street-level LRT has the ability to transform streetscapes and the public realm into more pedestrian-oriented, attractive places that attract businesses, gathering, and higher density housing. Compared to SkyTrain which cuts through communities disconnected from street-level, on obtrusive concrete guideways, LRT helps build communities along its route, becoming a part of those communities.

Vision for 104 Avenue – To be repurposed from an auto-oriented corridor to a multi-modal, pedestrian and transit oriented corridor. LRT along a pedestrianized City Parkway at Central Avenue (103 Ave) In Surrey City Centre, Newton Town Centre, and Guildford Town Centre, the LRT line will be integrated into pedestrian-only plazas, much like you would find in Europe. Along the line, 104th Avenue and King George Hwy will be transformed into multi-modal streets, instead of the 20th-century era car-oriented streets they are today. 104th Avenue and King George Boulevard will become attractive, focal streets, complete with LRT, vehicle lanes, grade-separated bike lanes, and improved sidewalks. Land-use along them will gradually develop into a continuous stretch of mixed-use mid-rise buildings set close to the street, with ground floor retail, and offices, residences above.

LRT will also add a new tier of transit to Metro Vancouver’s transit system that is currently missing, and would be appropriate for many other parts of the region as a compliment to the existing SkyTrain system which serves as more of a regional commuter rail service. LRT is best suited for servicing more localized areas, where bus service is inadequate, while connecting to the regional rail network.

Vision for a European-Style Plaza with LRT at Newton Town Centre LRT along a pedestrianized City Parkway at Surrey Central Station Proposed LRT Routing at 102 Avenue & King George Blvd Proposed LRT routing along King George Blvd between 100 Ave & 102 Ave Proposed LRT routing at 96th Ave & King George Blvd For more on the Guildford-Newton LRT line:
http://www.surrey.ca/city-services/15698.aspx

Concord Pacific’s Park Avenue West has finally opened near King George Station in Surrey City Centre. The tower which began construction in 2014, is the taller twin to Park Avenue East which opened in late 2016.

Standing at 39 Storeys tall, Park Avenue West not only adds another condo tower to the area, but also completes the the Park Avenue development, bringing with it a number of resort-style amenities, new public plaza space, walkways open to the public, lighting features, and a corner fountain with spotlights that illuminates the building in changing purple and blue tones at night. Park Avenue is the successor to the original 3 Park Place towers at King George Station, and is set to be followed by Park Boulevard which is expected to break ground by next year.

The opening of Park Avenue has quickly given a new feel to the area. A walk through the new public plaza, pathway, and amenity areas provides a good sense the future feel of Surrey City Centre, and the King George Station area in particular, with the quality of urban design and landscaping on-par and comparable to areas of Coal Harbour and Concord Pacific’s False Creek neighbourhood. With a number of new developments set to break ground within the next year in the immediate vicinity, the area’s transformation will only continue.

New corner fountain at Whalley Blvd + 100 Avenue featuring coloured spotlights. View west along 100 Avenue of Park Avenue West lobby View east on 100 Avenue of Park Avenue West entrance View of the Park Avenue parking access area New public pathway connecting to Whalley Blvd Parking Garage entry and pool deck to the right View further back along new public pathway Private pool within Park Avenue amenity area Horizontal lighting feature on top of Park Avenue West and East Pool deck within private amenity area Amenity area tennis court along new public path Park Avenue West and East as seen from King George Station Park Avenue West and East with Park Place in forefront from King George Station Purple toned lighting feature on Park Avenue West as seen from 100 Avenue

For more on Park Avenue:

https://www.parkavenueliving.ca

Lark Group‘s 10-storey ‘City Centre 3’ development across from Surrey Memorial Hospital is set to appear before Council on Monday, September 11 for 1st & 2nd readings. The project is the 3rd in a series of towers being developed by Lark Group as part of the emerging medical, technology district dubbed Innovation Boulevard. The tower follows the 12-storey ‘City Centre 1’ completed in 2014, and the currently under construction 12-storey ‘City Centre 2’. A Business in Vancouver article published earlier this year indicated that Lark Group has plans for up to 8 towers in total for the area, envisioned to become a “Stanford University type” medical / research hub.

Like its predecessors, City Centre 3 will provide office space for a mix of medical offices, research, and tech firms, along with ground-floor retail. It will also provide space for a new private surgical centre. The development is seeking both OCP and City Centre Plan amendments from 3.5 FAR to 5.5 FAR, as well as Rezoning and Development Permit. Designed by Wensley Architecture Ltd., the building offers a striking design and will be a welcome addition to the growing cluster of mid-rise towers in the quickly urbanizing area at the south end of Surrey City Centre.