Four-tower Civic District in Surrey City Centre promises nearly 2,000 homes, huge digital screens, but lacks office space, raising city staff concerns.
Surrey’s Skyline Set for a Digital Makeover
The heart of Surrey City Centre is about to get a major facelift. Wesgroup Properties has unveiled plans for a four-tower, mixed-use development at 10355 King George Blvd.—the former Safeway site that closed in 2021. But while the Civic District project dazzles with huge digital screens and nearly 2,000 homes, city staff are raising eyebrows over what’s missing: office space.
Four Towers, Thousands of Homes, and Mega Screens
Designed by Arcadis, the project includes four high-rises ranging from 40 to 51 storeys. Altogether, they’ll offer 1,980 homes, including 1,702 strata condos and 278 rental units.
Each tower’s podium will be lined with retail and restaurant spaces, bringing life to the streets. And the standout feature? The second and third podium levels will be wrapped in massive digital screens, the largest of their kind in Metro Vancouver. Think Times Square in New York or Shinjuku in Tokyo, right here in Surrey. These screens will also cleverly hide above-ground parking levels, keeping the area visually striking while functional.
Phase-by-Phase: What Residents Can Expect
- Northeast quadrant: 42-storey tower with 470 condos, a childcare facility, and a 33,000 sq. ft. grocery store.
- Southeast quadrant: 40-storey tower with 417 condos and 32,000 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space.
- Southwest quadrant: 50-storey tower with 407 condos, an eight-storey hotel, and 10,000 sq. ft. of retail.
- Northwest quadrant: 51-storey tower featuring 408 condos, 278 rental homes, and 21,000 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space.
With 1.7 million sq. ft. of total building floor area, the development reaches a floor area ratio (FAR) of 7.5—a major density boost for the Civic District.
Office Space Missing, City Staff Concerned
While the Civic District dazzles visually, Surrey staff point out that the project falls far short of municipal policy requirements for non-residential space. Official plans for the Central Business District expect significant office space to support jobs and create a vibrant economic core. Yet this proposal offers none. Retail, childcare, and hotel uses make up roughly 1.0 FAR, leaving 6.5 FAR residential.
City staff warn that approving this project without office space could set a precedent, encouraging future developments to bypass office requirements, potentially undermining Surrey’s long-term vision for a lively, employment-focused city centre.
Balancing Entertainment and Employment
The site also sits within Surrey’s Entertainment District, where large-scale retail, restaurants, and eye-catching digital screens fit the vision perfectly. Still, city staff note that using screens to cover parking levels could signal a shift in expectations for future projects, especially regarding office space.
The city is asking Wesgroup Properties to explore ways to include commercial space, ideally offices, to align with other projects in the Central Business District. While the current office market is weak, officials emphasize the importance of maintaining long-term planning standards.
A Shift From Earlier Ambitions
Earlier iterations of the Civic District envisioned even taller towers—up to 70 storeys—with over 2,000 homes and hundreds of thousands of square feet of office, retail, and restaurant space, but no hotel. The current plan scales back the height slightly and swaps office space for a large hotel, reflecting changing market conditions.
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