Surrey Updates

[GlassCity]

Sorry if this is the wrong thread, but it does say "South Fraser" and I couldn't find one for Abbotsford.

Abbotsford rethinks its future

Abbotsford, where the vehicle is king and surface parking lots eat up more real estate than the strip malls they service, is about to undergo a revolution.

Sprawling, lacking a downtown core and yet hemmed in by the very agricultural economy that has made it what it is, B.C.’s largest city by land mass is rethinking its future.

If all goes according to plan, the next 60,000 people to move there will shape Abbotsford — population 140,000 — into a denser urban environment where residential and commercial towers replace car parks and the city grows up, not out.
...

Read more: http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/abbotsford-rethinks-its-future

Looks like Abbotsford is gonna try to follow in Surrey's footsteps. It'll be even harder for them though, as their city centre is very linear and has a poor street grid. Should be interesting to see if they're really able to create a sense of place in what is essentially a giant power centre surrounded by sprawl.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

Sorry if this is the wrong thread, but it does say "South Fraser" and I couldn't find one for Abbotsford.

Abbotsford rethinks its future

Read more: http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/abbotsford-rethinks-its-future

Looks like Abbotsford is gonna try to follow in Surrey's footsteps. It'll be even harder for them though, as their city centre is very linear and has a poor street grid. Should be interesting to see if they're really able to create a sense of place in what is essentially a giant power centre surrounded by sprawl.

Hopefully so. It's nice to see Abbotsford kind of take from Surrey's example. Only thing that is missing in their recipe, that Surrey has, is a rapid transportation link to the rest of the Lower Mainland (not that I think it is the be-all, end-all of development). Maybe if Abbotsford develops more densely as the article suggests, it could promote the idea of having the Expo line extend there OR having the West Coast Express extend its service there?

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by scryer

Hopefully so. It's nice to see Abbotsford kind of take from Surrey's example. Only thing that is missing in their recipe, that Surrey has, is a rapid transportation link to the rest of the Lower Mainland (not that I think it is the be-all, end-all of development). Maybe if Abbotsford develops more densely as the article suggests, it could promote the idea of having the Expo line extend there OR having the West Coast Express extend its service there?

Commuter rail along the Trans Canada Hwy is a possibility. There aren't many cross streets (which already have over / underpasses in place) and an open median for the most part. It could go almost from Guildford to McCallum Road with minimal road work required. If they plan ahead for it I could see them do the road work (and play with the ground in the median) over a number of years before laying tracks down.

[Shift]

Originally Posted by scryer

Maybe if Abbotsford develops more densely as the article suggests, it could promote the idea of having the Expo line extend there OR having the West Coast Express extend its service there?

Nobody wants to ride the Expo line to Abbottsford. Its a terribly uncomfortable form of travel over long distances, especially the Mark I's. Even to Surrey from
Downtown is a bit of a stretch. The region needs regional scale rail, such as expanded west coast express or german style S-Bahn which is larger than Skytrain, smaller than West Coast Express, but much more comfortable and suited to regional scale travel and frequent scheduling.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by Shift

Nobody wants to ride the Expo line to Abbottsford. Its a terribly uncomfortable form of travel over long distances, especially the Mark I's. Even to Surrey from
Downtown is a bit of a stretch. The region needs regional scale rail, such as expanded west coast express or german style S-Bahn which is larger than Skytrain, smaller than West Coast Express, but much more comfortable and suited to regional scale travel and frequent scheduling.

Yeah, an Expo Line extension to Abbotsford likely wouldn't be feasible. Not only is it uncomfortable, but it would travel through way too much farmland to make sense. An S-Bahn system is my fantasy, going from Abbotsford to Vancouver stopping at major Expo Line stations along the way. Unfortunately, this would be way too expensive to ever happen.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Shift

Nobody wants to ride the Expo line to Abbottsford. Its a terribly uncomfortable form of travel over long distances, especially the Mark I's. Even to Surrey from
Downtown is a bit of a stretch. The region needs regional scale rail, such as expanded west coast express or german style S-Bahn which is larger than Skytrain, smaller than West Coast Express, but much more comfortable and suited to regional scale travel and frequent scheduling.

I figured as much. Plus it would be too slow anyways. So would expanded WCE be feasible then? I don't live in Abbotsford so I don't know the area well.

[BobLoblawsLawBlog]

Originally Posted by Shift

Nobody wants to ride the Expo line to Abbottsford. Its a terribly uncomfortable form of travel over long distances, especially the Mark I's.

I'm the only one that find the mark I's more comfy.

[Blease]

Some of you may have heard the news that a Hollywood film studio is to built in the Newton neighbourhood of Surrey. The five stage studio, (with a capacity to accommodate up to 400 staff production crew) will be on the site of the old Pacific newspaper printing press property, just off of 88th Avenue and east of Scott Rd. Nothing in the way of renders yet, but I'm guessing they'll be building new structures on the property as I can't see them using the buildings currently in place.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Blease

Some of you may have heard the news that a Hollywood film studio is to built in the Newton neighbourhood of Surrey. The five stage studio, (with a capacity to accommodate up to 400 staff production crew) will be on the site of the old Pacific newspaper printing press property, just off of 88th Avenue and east of Scott Rd. Nothing in the way of renders yet, but I'm guessing they'll be building new structures on the property as I can't see them using the buildings currently in place.

That is freaking awesome!! Good for Surrey/Newton!

[xd_1771]

If you ask me the whole "we're getting a Hollywood studio" thing is a bit over-hyped, and the Mayor is walking away with far too much credit because the timing coincides with her big annual speech.

The key thing is what what the studio is doing is pursuing a potentially rather minimal conversion of an existing empty building, rather than constructing an actual purpose-built building. From Skydance's standpoint it means a lot of money can be saved on getting an extra studio within an hour's drive of Vancouver, which pretty much everyone wants these days anyways.



I mean, to start off, here's what the plant - which shut down only just last year - used to look like. Without the equipment (much of which was probably moved out/shut down when the plant did) it's a lot of big, empty space which would be very easily and inexpensively converted into a sound stage.

At the end of the day, these kinds of deals are possible anywhere in the region where there are big, empty warehouses and buildings. The studio is clearly moving in for reasons that have less to do with capitalizing on the potential of Surrey itself, but because a firesale deal showed up in front of their faces.

Think about it this way: If Pacific Newspaper Group decided to keep using the plant for a few more years rather than decide to contract out their services to a company in Annacis, Surrey might still be without a film studio.

[Blease]

Originally Posted by xd_1771

If you ask me the whole "we're getting a Hollywood studio" thing is a bit over-hyped, and the Mayor is walking away with far too much credit because the timing coincides with her big annual speech.

The key thing is what what the studio is doing is pursuing a potentially rather minimal conversion of an existing empty building, rather than constructing an actual purpose-built building. From Skydance's standpoint it means a lot of money can be saved on getting an extra studio within an hour's drive of Vancouver, which pretty much everyone wants these days anyways.


I mean, to start off, here's what the plant - which shut down only just last year - used to look like. Without the equipment (much of which was probably moved out/shut down when the plant did) it's a lot of big, empty space which would be very easily and inexpensively converted into a sound stage.

At the end of the day, these kinds of deals are possible anywhere in the region where there are big, empty warehouses and buildings. The studio is clearly moving in for reasons that have less to do with capitalizing on the potential of Surrey itself, but because a firesale deal showed up in front of their faces.

Think about it this way: If Pacific Newspaper Group decided to keep using the plant for a few more years rather than decide to contract out their services to a company in Annacis, Surrey might still be without a film studio.

You're missing the bigger picture here. Within Greater Vancouver, Surrey has never been seen as a prime destination for large global brand name companies or important events, because most large companies/businesses would rather set up shop where other established companies already exist, and for most companies that place has always been central Vancouver. For Surrey and municipalities similar, it's a catch-22 situation, ie. Microsoft won't set up an office here because Apple isn't already here, and Apple only sets up operations if there's an Amazon nearby, etc, etc, etc. What the arrival of this studio does is, it puts Surrey on the cultural map and who knows, in the near future other producers of cultural products such as a publishing house or a recording studio may choose Surrey as their base because they see a potential synergy with the film studio already based here, that's how these things play out. I suspect the opening of the upcoming Marriott Autograph hotel in Surrey Central and the large techno music festivals which take place in Holland Park, may have given impetus to this studio move. The studio is also good news for Surrey because it creates many spin off jobs, and very importantly it accords greater importance to the city. This is all in all, excellent news for Surrey, because even up to a week ago who could have envisioned a Hollywood Studio in this community.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by blease

you're missing the bigger picture here. Within greater vancouver, surrey has never been seen as a prime destination for large global brand name companies or important events, because most large companies/businesses would rather set up shop where other established companies already exist, and for most companies that place has always been central vancouver. For surrey and municipalities similar, it's a catch-22 situation, ie. Microsoft won't set up an office here because apple isn't already here, and apple only sets up operations if there's an amazon nearby, etc, etc, etc. What the arrival of this studio does is, it puts surrey on the cultural map and who knows, in the near future other producers of cultural products such as a publishing house or a recording studio may choose surrey as their base because they see a potential synergy with the film studio already based here, that's how these things play out. I suspect the opening of the upcoming marriott autograph hotel in surrey central and the large techno music festivals which take place in holland park, may have given impetus to this studio move. The studio is also good news for surrey because it creates many spin off jobs, and very importantly it accords greater importance to the city. This is all in all, excellent news for surrey, because even up to a week ago who could have envisioned a hollywood studio in this community.

Exactly. Let's attract more diverse industries other than office buildings (though, they can come to the party too!).

[Katherine S]

I'm not sure if this has been in the forums before, but there's finally some movement on the Cloverdale West Village site.

Just a few pits being excavated.

[sryboy]

Originally Posted by Katherine S

I'm not sure if this has been in the forums before, but there's finally some movement on the Cloverdale West Village site.

Just a few pits being excavated.

Thanks for the pics Katherine.
Is that the old Safeway site?

[Whalleyboy]

yeah I read something some where the soil may finally be good to start building on. From the old dry cleaning place that was in the mall it had ruined the soil son they had to fix it. Thats why nothing was happening there for so long

[Katherine S]

I was looking over the SCDC project documents and it seems that the area that is being excavated is the area that wasn't part of remediation efforts. It may be that there's a bit more left to do in that area.

[CoryHolmes]

Just drove by the parking lot on University Drive and 102. A sign says the lot will be permanently closed on July 31. Hopefully this means the SFU project will commence soon after.

[apesta]

Hi all, just want some input on Guildford area. I've been looking into Surrey recently as I want to buy a place there. I've initially looked deeply into South Surrey since it's the best area to live in if I have to choose Surrey. However I've also come across Guildford and it seems like it isn't that bad. At least it is closer to vancouver and Richmond which I normally go. I would just like to see if Guildford is worth investing into or I should choose South Surrey even if commute is much further.

[GMasterAres]

Originally Posted by apesta

Hi all, just want some input on Guildford area. I've been looking into Surrey recently as I want to buy a place there. I've initially looked deeply into South Surrey since it's the best area to live in if I have to choose Surrey. However I've also come across Guildford and it seems like it isn't that bad. At least it is closer to vancouver and Richmond which I normally go. I would just like to see if Guildford is worth investing into or I should choose South Surrey even if commute is much further.

No simple answer. It depends on what you're looking for. A single family house, townhouse, condo, etc.? New, old? Guildford is more urban that most of South Surrey. Newer houses and townhouses are typically more expensive in South Surrey. But again it is really difficult to answer that directly as South Surrey is really quite a vast chunk of land and has multiple areas. Ocean Park is much different than Crescent Beach or Morgan Creek or Morgan Heights, etc.

So would need a bit more information as your only qualification seems to be "best area" which doesn't really mean much because you're not stating how you classify an area as best. Best for raising children? Best for commuting? Best for being able to walk to things? Best for weather? Best for crime? Best for amenities?

Finally are you buying to raise a family, live long term, or to live in it and flip it in a few years hoping to cash in on home prices increasing?

[apesta]

Originally Posted by jhausner

No simple answer. It depends on what you're looking for. A single family house, townhouse, condo, etc.? New, old? Guildford is more urban that most of South Surrey. Newer houses and townhouses are typically more expensive in South Surrey. But again it is really difficult to answer that directly as South Surrey is really quite a vast chunk of land and has multiple areas. Ocean Park is much different than Crescent Beach or Morgan Creek or Morgan Heights, etc.

So would need a bit more information as your only qualification seems to be "best area" which doesn't really mean much because you're not stating how you classify an area as best. Best for raising children? Best for commuting? Best for being able to walk to things? Best for weather? Best for crime? Best for amenities?

Finally are you buying to raise a family, live long term, or to live in it and flip it in a few years hoping to cash in on home prices increasing?

I'll be more specific. I've never been to Surrey much my whole life and I often hear a lot crime activities going on around central Surrey or Surrey in general. So I wonder if Guildford is in that category or it's a nicer area where I can raise children or where I can feel safe in the neighbourhood. I'm currently looking to buy Guildhouse by Mosaic homes just across from Guildford mall. They will be launching some townhomes and I was really drawn to their layout and overall development. I've been to Morgan Crossing and I must say the area there is much nicer and less busy. However, prices over there are beginning to be unaffordable. Guildhouse will probably be a lot more affordable. So I basically just want to know if the area around Guildford mall would be good to start a family. My main issue with Morgan crossing other than pricing is also the fact that it's far from the main cities whereas Guildford is closer to Vancouver, Burnaby.