New 25-storey office tower to signal Central City mall redevelopment in Surrey

Artistic rendering of the Central City II office tower at 10045 King George Boulevard, Surrey. (ZGF Architects / Blackwood Partners)

A new office tower at the very southeast corner of the Central City property in Surrey’s emerging downtown area is intended to be the first phase of a complete redevelopment of the shopping mall.

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Blackwood Partners has submitted its rezoning and development application for its long-awaited Central City II office tower at 10045 King George Boulevard — the northwest corner of the intersection of Old Yale Road and King George Boulevard. The 2.5-acre site is currently occupied by the former Best Buy building and ground-level parking.

Central City II 10045 King George Boulevard Surrey

Site of the Central City II office tower at 10045 King George Boulevard, Surrey. (City of Surrey)

The office tower development site at the northwest corner of King George Boulevard and 100 Avenue. (Google Maps Streetview)

The application, designed by ZGF Architects, calls for a 382-ft-tall, 25-storey building with 567,114 sq. ft. of Class AAA office space in the upper floors and 16,168 sq. ft. of ground-level retail and restaurant space. This includes a three-storey podium, with the top two floors utilized as office, and the lower retail and restaurant spaces spilling out onto a stepped public plaza.

According to a city staff report, the tower’s elliptical form references the form of Bing Thom’s Central City 1 tower on the opposite corner of the site — at the northwest corner of the mall.

But the massing and exterior differentiates with the use of a combination of glass and corrugated metal panels that provide the tower with a metallic rust appearance, as well as solar shading and an improved “visual interest.”

Artistic rendering of the Central City II office tower at 10045 King George Boulevard, Surrey. (ZGF Architects / Blackwood Partners)

Rooftop decks, including the large podium rooftop, will be used as outdoor amenity spaces for building tenants.

Five underground levels will contain 982 vehicle parking stalls, with the expectation that 60% of all trips as a result of the tower’s density will be made by private vehicle, while the remaining 40% will be made by public transit, walking, and cycling due to the site’s close proximity to SkyTrain’s King George Station and the R1 King George Boulevard (96 B-Line rapid bus).

The building will be constructed to a LEED Platinum green building standard.

Artistic rendering of the Central City II office tower at 10045 King George Boulevard, Surrey. (ZGF Architects / Blackwood Partners)

Portions of the private property will be dedicated to allow for a widening of King George Boulevard and Old Yale Road into wider arterial roads, and the creation of a new public road, City Parkway, which includes a portion of the mall access road.

With the land to be dedicated for road space accounted for, the proposed floor area ratio density of this tower is 5.3 times the size of its lot.

Site of the Central City II office tower at 10045 King George Boulevard, Surrey. (ZGF Architects / Blackwood Partners)

Interestingly, city staff were keen on having the developer pursue a taller tower, but the proponent was not interested.

“The 25-storey tower is located in a high profile location in the City Centre, in the southeast corner of the Central City Mall site at the intersection of Old Yale Road and King George Boulevard and overlooks Holland Park to the south,” reads the city staff report.

“Staff encouraged the applicant to increase the height of the proposed tower, due its central, prominent location in City Centre. However, the applicant declined, noting that the building had been sized for anticipated market needs.”

Artistic rendering of the Central City II office tower at 10045 King George Boulevard, Surrey. (ZGF Architects / Blackwood Partners)

Central City II tower is envisioned as the first phase of the future redevelopment of the indoor shopping mall and the ground-level parking sites.

Blackwood Partners owns the large site in Surrey City Centre that not only includes the Central City shopping centre and office tower but also the lots between the mall and King George Boulevard. Other tower redevelopments are also envisioned for its ground-level parking lot sites fronting King George Boulevard.

The existing indoor shopping mall could also see redevelopment that would convert it into an outdoor, pedestrian-oriented retail destination with a public street grid.

City staff have indicated that the redevelopment concept of the indoor mall and ground-level parking will be established by a future master planning process.

“As the Central City Mall site is proposed to be redeveloped over time, including the redevelopment of the existing surface parking spaces on the eastern portion of the mall site, the applicant is constructing additional parking capacity to accommodate ultimate redevelopment of the mall,” reads the report.

The anticipated density of the entire master plan area is significant, with a floor area ratio of up to 7.5 times the size of the entire mall lot.

Current condition:

Existing condition of the Central City property. (Google Maps)

Future potential redevelopment concept:

Future redevelopments on the Central City property. (Blackwood Partners)

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