Site preparation begins for massive office towers in Surrey City Centre | Daily Hive

2024 revised concept for the Centre Block's north parcels redevelopment. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Adamson Architects/SCDC)

Over five years after the closure of North Surrey Recreation Centre and North Surrey Arena, its complex of buildings in the core of Surrey City Centre will now be demolished.

The City of Surrey has awarded the contract to demolish the former community and recreation centre — a prominent complex immediately west of SkyTrain’s Surrey Central Station, north of the bus loop and Central City mall, and south of Civic Square and Surrey City Hall.

Demolition work will begin in early 2025, with the phased demolition process reaching full completion in Summer 2025. This will begin with the demolition of Arena 1, then Arena 2, and finally, the aquatic centre.

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The facilities closed in late 2019 after the services and programming were moved to the new North Surrey Sport & Ice Complex near SkyTrain’s Scott Road Station. The municipal government is in the process of planning a major expansion of the existing Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre to serve the growing needs of Surrey City Centre.

Following the permanent closure for recreation uses, the buildings were temporarily used as homeless shelters in the early years of the pandemic.

North Surrey Recreation Centre. (Google Maps)

centre block sfu surrey 10261-10275 city parkway 2024

Site of the north parcels of Centre Block at 10261-10275 City Parkway, Surrey. (City of Surrey)

The decision to now proceed with the demolition of North Surrey Recreation Centre and North Surrey Arena marks a major milestone for the City of Surrey’s redevelopment of the municipally owned property into the massive “Centre Block” office and institutional complex, including one of Metro Vancouver’s future tallest buildings.

“Centre Block is more than just a redevelopment project. It will be the catalyst for economic growth, innovation, and community engagement in our ever-expanding City Centre,” said Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke following the demolition contract approval.

“Centre Block will be a vibrant, accessible, and modern urban centre near rapid transit and major transportation routes. It is also a natural extension of the considerable civic investment in the area as reflected in the new City Hall, Library and Civic Plaza and will progress Surrey’s long-term economic interests through advancing a downtown business district.”

2024 revised concept for the Centre Block’s north parcels redevelopment. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Adamson Architects/SCDC)

2024 revised concept for the Centre Block’s north parcels redevelopment, and the future south parcels redevelopment. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Adamson Architects/SCDC)

This long-planned project is led by the City-owned for-profit real estate company Surrey City Development Corporation (SCDC), which was recently restarted after being disbanded by the previous City Council.

Within both new towers, there will be a total of 1.56 million sq ft of commercial space, including 1.21 million sq ft of office space, 329,000 sq ft of education/institutional space, and 24,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant space. No residential uses are planned.

The west tower will reach a height of 344 ft with 17 storeys, while the main east tower will reach a height of 754 ft with 45 storeys.

Based on the details of a 2024 application to the municipal government, most of the West tower will be used for Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) new medical school, which will occupy about 254,000 sq ft of the tower’s 454,000 sq ft of floor area. It was also noted that the West tower with SFU’s expansion will be the first phase of the site’s redevelopment, while the much larger East tower will be the second phase.

This new permanent home for SFU’s new medical school — BC’s second hub for training new doctors and nurses, after the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine — depends on significant new funding from senior governments. In 2024, the provincial government provided $34 million to help cover the cost of the medical school’s temporary space until the new permanent space is ready.

Using the temporary facilities, the aim is to enable the medical school’s first class to start in Summer 2026. The university’s leadership previously indicated the new permanent space is targeted to be ready by 2028/2029.

2024 revised concept for the Centre Block’s north parcels redevelopment. (Hariri Pontarini Architects/Adamson Architects/SCDC)

Upon completion, the new office complex will provide Surrey City Centre’s emerging Central Business District with a significant anchor of activity and a new additional economic engine, catalyzing further growth for the area.

SCDC also previously spearheaded the adjacent 2018-built, 52-storey mixed-use 3 Civic Plaza tower, which contains hotel, office uses (Kwantlen Polytechnic University), and condominiums.

“The demolition of the old North Surrey Recreation Centre will mark the start of a new era for our downtown core,” continued the mayor.

“The redevelopment of the site will set the foundation for the transformative Centre Block project. This milestone project will not only enhance the downtown landscape with new office space and retail options but also foster a sense of community through the public plaza. Centre Block will be instrumental in the continued evolution of Surrey’s City Centre into the region’s second downtown core.”

Over the longer term, the existing bus loop and adjacent surface vehicle parking lot will also be redeveloped into a high-density mixed-use development, with the bus loop replaced by an on-street bus exchange. Significant public plaza spaces are also planned for the entire multi-phased “Centre Block” redevelopment.

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