Highrise rentals planned for Whalley corner
After a public hearing on Dec. 15, Surrey council advanced plans for a highrise at the southeast corner of 104 Avenue and 132 Street. The Provincial Rental Housing Corp. to build 24-storey tower in Whalley would bring 230 rental homes atop three levels of underground parking on a former gas-station site.
A planning report says some units will rent below market, while Surrey School District expects about 20 school-age children to live in the building. Projections suggest 12 would attend Old Yale Road Elementary, five would go to Kwantlen Park Secondary and the rest would enroll in private schools, other districts or home learning.
Replacement housing for Mayflower co-op
City planning general manager Ron Gill told council the project is tied directly to the aging Mayflower housing co-op roughly 500 metres away. The goal is to prevent the loss of purpose-built rental housing by giving existing Mayflower tenants new homes in the tower once it opens.
A representative from BC Housing warned that without this project, 92 Mayflower residents could be left without places to live. The new tower, they argued, offers a path to keep long-time renters in the neighbourhood while updating aging stock.
Tree loss and environmental concerns
Not everyone supported every aspect of the plan. At the public hearing, Deb Jack of Surrey Environmental Partners pointed out that there are no trees on the development site itself, but eight boulevard trees sit along the edge. Current plans would remove five of them even though they are on public land.
Jack argued those boulevard trees should carry a higher replacement value than typical private trees. She proposed that the city triple the standard figure, assigning a value of $1,650 per tree instead of $550, to reflect their public benefit and discourage easy removal.
Meeting Surrey’s urgent housing needs
BC Housing development manager Vanessa Wong framed the project against Surrey’s broader housing pressures. The city’s 2025 housing needs report estimates Surrey must add more than 53,000 homes over five years to keep up with demand, she noted.
Within that picture, Whalley and the wider City Centre area stand out for having some of the highest numbers of low‑income households and the highest share of renters. The Provincial Rental Housing Corp. to build 24-storey tower in Whalley aims to ease that pressure by delivering 230 affordable, accessible rental units at a transit‑friendly corner.
What comes next
With third reading complete, the project still requires final adoption and detailed permitting before construction can begin. If it moves ahead, the tower would reshape a key gateway into City Centre and offer a crucial lifeline to Mayflower co‑op residents.
For Whalley, the decision signals that council sees higher‑density rental housing as central to its growth strategy—even as debates continue over tree protection, public realm design and how best to balance rapid development with livability.
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