How City of Surrey's $116.6-million land swap secures Vancouver Giants arena site | Daily Hive

How the City of Surrey's $116.6-million land swap with Wesgroup Properties will secure the Vancouver Giants arena site

June 2026 preliminary conceptual artistic renderings of the Surrey City Centre Arena and Cultural Event Centre, a mixed-use redevelopment at 10355 King George Blvd. with a new 10,000-seat arena for the new home of the Vancouver Giants. (City of Surrey)

The City of Surrey’s planned push to create an entertainment district in its emerging downtown area took a major step forward today, with Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke and the leadership of the Vancouver Giants and the City-owned, for-profit real estate development company of Surrey City Development Corporation (SCDC) jointly announcing an agreement in principle to engage in a partnership to build a new 10,000-seat indoor arena immediately east of Surrey City Hall and SkyTrain’s Surrey Central Station.

This would be achieved as a high-density, mixed-use development, with Surrey City Centre Arena and Cultural Event Centre — the new home of the Western Hockey League (WHL) team, a relocation from its current home ice of Langley Events Centre — accompanied by a luxury hotel with about 175 guest rooms and conference space, as well as residential uses and 100,000 sq. ft. of office and retail/restaurant space that supports the creation of a vibrant entertainment district.

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The land needed for the arena will be secured through a major land exchange between the municipal government and local developer Wesgroup Properties, which is the existing owner of this 5.1-acre site at 10355 King George Blvd. — the former Safeway store (closed in 2021) and surface vehicle parking lot site framed by City Parkway to the west, 104 Avenue to the north, King George Boulevard to the east, and Central Avenue to the south.

The arena building will be situated within the northwest quadrant of the lot, closest to the public transit hub.

“Wesgroup Properties has agreed to facilitate an exchange of properties with the City of Surrey,” Wesgroup Properties told Daily Hive Urbanized today upon inquiry.

“Through this arrangement, Wesgroup will exchange our Civic District site at 10355 King George Boulevard for three city-owned commercial properties. As required under the Community Charter, the City of Surrey has published a notice of proposed property disposition, and this transaction is subject to the completion of that process.”

surrey city centre arena and cultural event centre

Wesgroup Properties’ former Safeway/Civic District development site at 10355 King George Blvd., the future location of Surrey City Centre Arena and Cultural Event Centre. (EY-Parthenon)

10355 king george boulevard 10388 city parkway surrey wesgroup civic district

Location of 10355 King George Blvd., Surrey. (Google Maps)

City of Surrey to trade three industrial and commercial properties in a cashless deal

To support this cashless acquisition deal, a transaction review prepared for the City by consulting firm EY-Parthenon on June 2, 2026 found the proposed land values are in line with the independent appraisals and broker estimates, asserting the municipal government is getting fair market value for the properties involved.

Under the planned deal, Surrey would acquire this site from Wesgroup Properties in exchange for three City-owned properties: the two vacant industrial properties of the 14.65-acre site at 2750 194A St. and the 4.3-acre site at 19165 39 Ave. within the Campbell Heights industrial area, and the 3.75-acre site of the Cedar Hills Shopping Centre strip mall at 12820-12842 96 Ave. in Whalley. The strip mall has about 54,000 sq. ft. of leasable retail/restaurant space, and as of May 2026 it was 100 per cent leased.

Combined, the three City-owned properties span about 22.65 acres — worth a combined total of $116.6 million, including $63.5 million for 2750 194A St., $19.9 million for 19165 39 Ave., and $33.2 million for the strip mall.

Moreover, Wesgroup Properties’ former Safeway site in Surrey City Centre is also valued at $116.6 million.

That means the land swap transaction is designed so neither side would need to add cash to balance the deal.

Both Campbell Heights industrial properties owned by the City are held through SCDC.

Locations of the BC Lions training facility, the Wesgroup Properties former Safeway/Civic District development site, and the three City of Surrey-owned industrial and commercial properties. (EY-Parthenon)

The three City of Surrey-owned properties that will be transferred to Wesgroup Properties to realize Surrey City Centre Arena and Cultural Event Centre. (EY-Parthenon/Google Maps)

The report also notes that Wesgroup Properties’ former Safeway site was not actively being marketed for sale.

The major Vancouver-based developer was instead advancing its own high-density, mixed-use redevelopment application for the site, which had received third reading from Surrey City Council just weeks ago on May 25, 2026. Their “Civic District” concept, which has undergone revisions over the years to better reflect ever-evolving challenging market realities, envisioned four towers between 49 storeys and 50 storeys, with 1.7 million sq. ft. of total building floor area, including 1,900 homes, 95,000 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space, a 106,000 sq. ft. hotel, and 15,000 sq. ft. of childcare uses.

“While we have spent the last four years advancing our Civic District masterplan, we recognize the significant opportunity that this exchange creates for the City of Surrey to build a new arena and cultural event centre and for Wesgroup to diversify its real estate portfolio with two industrial development sites and one income-producing retail asset,” Wesgroup Properties told Daily Hive Urbanized.

10355 King George Boulevard Surrey Safeway Civic District Wesgroup

Site of the former Safeway at 10355 King George Blvd. (Google Maps)

Cancelled: 2022 preliminary concept of Civic District at 10355 King George Blvd., replacing the closed Safeway in Surrey City Centre. (Wesgroup Properties)

10355 King George Boulevard Surrey Civic District Wesgroup

Cancelled: February 2026 revised concept of Civic District at 10355 King George Blvd., Surrey. (Arcadis/Wesgroup Properties)

10355 King George Blvd surrey civic district

Cancelled: May 2026 revised concept of Civic District at 10355 King George Blvd. (Arcadis/Wesgroup Properties)

The developer acquired the property in November 2022 for $108.5 million from Crombie Real Estate Investment Trust, which previously bought dozens of Safeway grocery store properties across Western Canada in 2016, including the Surrey City Centre location. The 2022 finalized sale was negotiated off-market in mid-2021 and was affected by a commitment to incorporate shell space in the future redevelopment at a fixed, below-market price, which contributed to an overall discount on the land transaction. This was specifically for a future replacement Safeway grocery store within the mixed-use development.

This report notes that the market for new high-density residential uses in Metro Vancouver is currently challenged, including in Surrey City Centre. It points to just over 100 completed and unsold strata market ownership condominium units in the area, but more than 5,500 units of new supply under construction. It also notes that roughly 1,500 secured purpose-built rental homes are currently under construction in the same area, with some rental buildings reporting higher vacancies and asking rents that have dropped by up to 20 per cent from peak levels just a few years ago.

According to EY-Parthenon, this softer market has affected land values and development feasibility. The report notes that there has been a decline in land acquisition activity, with many developers unwilling to launch new projects in the current challenging market conditions. At the same time, larger and more strategic sites may still be held by larger developers waiting for the next development cycle.

Why the City abandoned redeveloping the BC Lions training facility

The consultant also analyzed the change in the City’s preferred location of the project, as the BC Lions training facility at 10605 City Parkway — about two blocks to the north, closer to SkyTrain’s Gateway Station — was previously the identified location of this mixed-use development project with an arena.

That City-owned site is about six acres. Half of the land is leased to the BC Lions, while the other half is used as a soccer field and parking lot within Tom Binnie Park.

But EY-Parthenon determined that the Wesgroup Properties site is “far superior” overall for the arena and entertainment hub. The only category where the BC Lions site scored better was size and configuration, as it is about one acre larger.

The original Surrey City Centre Arena and Cultural Event Centre development site replacing the BC Lions training facility of 10605 City Parkway (top) and Wesgroup Properties’ former Safeway/Civic District development site at 10355 King George Blvd. (bottom). (EY-Parthenon)

The original Surrey City Centre Arena and Cultural Event Centre development site replacing the BC Lions training facility of 10605 City Parkway (left) and Wesgroup Properties’ former Safeway/Civic District development site at 10355 King George Blvd. (right). (EY-Parthenon/Google Maps)

surrey city centre arena bc lions training facility site

Site of the BC Lions’ training facility at 10605 City Parkway in Surrey City Centre. (Google Maps)

BC Lions’ training facility at 10605 City Parkway in Surrey City Centre. (Blast Media)

The soccer field adjacent to the BC Lions’ training facility’s football field and building at 10605 City Parkway. (Langley RCMP)

Location of the former Safeway site at 10355 King George Blvd.. (Google Maps)

Although it is only two blocks to the south, the now-planned property for acquisition was rated much more optimal for visibility, frontage, landmark potential, accessibility, and connectivity, and superior for complementary land uses and mixed-use development capacity. It is also immediately adjacent to a SkyTrain station with Surrey City Centre’s main bus exchange, served by 20 existing bus routes and the future King George Boulevard Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line.

The Wesgroup Properties site is described to be much better positioned for the arena because it is already surrounded by major civic, institutional, and commercial anchors, including City Hall, Civic Plaza, City Centre Library, the 3 Civic Plaza mixed-use tower (with Marriott’s Civic Hotel Autograph Collection and Kwantlen Polytechnic University), Central City mall, Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus (SFU), the future City-spearheaded Interactive Art Museum building, and the planned SFU medical school within SCDC’s multi-phased Centre Block development, as well as other high-density residential developments that are proceeding.

For this reason, EY-Parthenon described the Wesgroup Properties site as a more “centre ice” location within the emerging downtown area that taps into the synergies of adjacent uses, which also better aligns with the City’s existing long-term strategies of placing major anchor uses within the core of the downtown area.

As well, if the original site were to be used, the consultant highlighted the need and potential added cost of finding a new location for the BC Lions training facility, and the tradeoff of decreasing the amount of playing fields and green space in Surrey City Centre, which is seeing a rapidly growing population that will require more community and recreational space over the long term.

The consultant also found there are no other contiguous sites of at least five acres within the City’s designated entertainment district area within Surrey City Centre. Other properties could theoretically be assembled, including smaller parcels south of the King George Boulevard site, but the report notes that would require negotiating with multiple owners — adding time, risk, and likely a required cash payment. They emphasized that the municipal government has an expressed preference to not to fund the acquisition with cash, but instead through a swap of City-owned properties.

The report also notes this specific Surrey City Centre site offers an opportunity to monetize surplus high-rise density after the arena and hotel are developed. The site could include additional high-density development, convention space, and potential consideration for a casino, if approved by BC Lottery Corporation.

2026 revised concept of Civic District at 10355 King George Blvd., Surrey. (Arcadis/Wesgroup Properties)

vancouver giants surrey city centre arena 10355 King George Boulevard

The agreement with Wesgroup Properties also includes protections to prevent either side from quickly flipping the land for a profit. The developer cannot resell the City-owned industrial and strip mall properties in 2026. If those lands are sold between 2027 and 2029 before being developed, the municipal government would receive a share of any sale proceeds above the agreed transaction value. A similar arrangement would apply to the arena site in Surrey City Centre, with the City sharing any net profits with Wesgroup Properties.

Although the land acquisition will not require any cash, the City has set aside $200 million in funding in its 2026-2030 capital plan to cover the majority of the estimated $360-million cost of building this mid-size indoor arena — a major investment to generate an economic engine and regular stream of sports, concerts, entertainment, and other events, providing Surrey City Centre with a major regional-scale draw. This cost does not include the other components of the mixed-use development on the site.

If all goes as planned, construction could begin in 2027 for a completion and opening of the arena in 2030, at which point the Giants will relocate from their existing home at Langley Events Centre.

Mayor Locke first announced the arena vision in 2024, which led to preliminary planning and feasibility work between 2024 and 2025 and the launch of a bidding process in early 2026. This led to the selection of the Giants.

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