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

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.