[Surrey] GEC Education Centre | 165m | 49 fl | Proposed

[Hooknose]

Originally Posted by Shift

^The first 2? There are already 7 completed in the area immediately surrounding Surrey Central Station, and 2 under construction. GEC will be the 10th, and the 44-Storey West Village rental tower starting around the same time will be the 11th.


Wouldn't really call the mixing of 6-types of transportation in a small urban area revolutionary. Seems to work in many places around the world with good synergy. Will be a first for the Vancouver area at least.

When I meant central surrey, I was talking only about the present skytrain station at civic parkway and about 500 feet in all directions. between 104 and 102 and civic P to the west and the KGH to the east. Its about 12 acres and it will get 10 to 12 huge buildings.

just saying

[GMasterAres]

Originally Posted by SurreyonTheMap

So about that GEC huh? They currently renewed the lease of the roller hockey arena for six more months, is that because of the funds for GEC are still not where they need to be? Also will they allow people to invest as well like what is going on with the innovation building.

And for the LRT discussion, I live 2 minutes where one of the stops is going to be and someone whose used the 321 and 96Bline for over 15 years and i believe 5 years for the bline. From all your points and from the discussion that i seen in this thread and the LRT thread. I have to agree, its not going to work for me.

But lets discussed that in the LRT thread not here.

I could be wrong but I believe they said they were delaying as a result of not wanting to dig and commence construction during the Winter but rather target early Spring start for excavation. That was it. Said it would be more difficult and costly.

Who knows though. Like every single Surrey high-rise project, I will believe it when they start digging a hole.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by jhausner

I could be wrong but I believe they said they were delaying as a result of not wanting to dig and commence construction during the Winter but rather target early Spring start for excavation. That was it. Said it would be more difficult and costly.

Who knows though. Like every single Surrey high-rise project, I will believe it when they start digging a hole.

That's seems like a bullshit reason. If they are ready to go ahead it seems more costly just to let the project sit for all that time. Plus this isn't Nunavut, not sure how it would be significantly more costly to excavate in winter Lol.

[Shift]

^The project hasn't even appeared before Council yet. Definitely not ready to move ahead, it's not yet approved. I would expect 3rd reading sometime this fall, and final approval by early next year/spring.

Their granting of an extension to the roller rink seems more to do with that than anything.

[Hooknose]

Originally Posted by jhausner

I could be wrong but I believe they said they were delaying as a result of not wanting to dig and commence construction during the Winter but rather target early Spring start for excavation. That was it. Said it would be more difficult and costly.

Who knows though. Like every single Surrey high-rise project, I will believe it when they start digging a hole.

Great point about waiting to see the hole before anyone believes the hype about the building.

Do you guys remember the two or three years of false starts to get 3civic going.

I was so incredulous that they would actually start that I went to the 3civic site and asked a workman whether they were actually going to start.

It got so bad with 3civic that every one was from Missouri not Surrey.

[Shift]

^The "I'll believe it when they're digging" view is a bit overly pessimistic now given the current market. May have been true 5 years ago, but many factors have changed making projects way more likely to proceed in Surrey (especially if being developed by major developers):

• Surrey Central has begun to transform significantly over the past couple of years and is starting to look and feel a lot different. This is changing image, perception, and making it an easier sell for condos.
• Demand for condos across Metro Vancouver is at an all-time high. Builders cannot keep pace. Surrey Central is riding this demand wave making projects more likely to get started.
• Surrey Central still offers affordability compared to the rest of the region which will drive demand for people to buy condos here. Park Boulevard is sold out already. King George Hub will likely see strong sales too. Far cry from a few years ago.

GEC Education Hub is proceeding, the process just takes time at the City. Does not happen overnight. The application was just submitted this year - typically takes at least a year for approvals. The project is backed by a reputable developer and the CIBT group seems legitimate about moving forward with the project. They've been meeting their funding goals so far and have a well defined plan.

[CoryHolmes]

Don't forget that 5 years ago, we were only 4 years out of the great 2008 Economic Crash, and that delayed a lot of projects and many companies found themselves without an awful lot of cash to spend.

[osirisboy]

Still waiting for holland point and wave and park place lol. And that's not even mentioning all the projects in south Surrey that just sit still

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Shift

^The "I'll believe it when they're digging" view is a bit overly pessimistic now given the current market. May have been true 5 years ago, but many factors have changed making projects way more likely to proceed in Surrey (especially if being developed by major developers):

• Surrey Central has begun to transform significantly over the past couple of years and is starting to look and feel a lot different. This is changing image, perception, and making it an easier sell for condos.
• Demand for condos across Metro Vancouver is at an all-time high. Builders cannot keep pace. Surrey Central is riding this demand wave making projects more likely to get started.
• Surrey Central still offers affordability compared to the rest of the region which will drive demand for people to buy condos here. Park Boulevard is sold out already. King George Hub will likely see strong sales too. Far cry from a few years ago.

GEC Education Hub is proceeding, the process just takes time at the City. Does not happen overnight. The application was just submitted this year - typically takes at least a year for approvals. The project is backed by a reputable developer and the CIBT group seems legitimate about moving forward with the project. They've been meeting their funding goals so far and have a well defined plan.

It's not a condo. It's a hub for international universities to set up offices and one gorgeous privately funded student residences. See Waterloo for examples what private student residences usually turn out. There's more than even cause to be hesitant and sticking firm to, "I'll believe it when they're digging". I could be wrong on this. The reputable developer is acting as the project manager. They have no equity in this. That decision is entirely on CIBT

[GMasterAres]

Originally Posted by Shift

^The "I'll believe it when they're digging" view is a bit overly pessimistic now given the current market. May have been true 5 years ago, but many factors have changed making projects way more likely to proceed in Surrey (especially if being developed by major developers):

• Surrey Central has begun to transform significantly over the past couple of years and is starting to look and feel a lot different. This is changing image, perception, and making it an easier sell for condos.
• Demand for condos across Metro Vancouver is at an all-time high. Builders cannot keep pace. Surrey Central is riding this demand wave making projects more likely to get started.
• Surrey Central still offers affordability compared to the rest of the region which will drive demand for people to buy condos here. Park Boulevard is sold out already. King George Hub will likely see strong sales too. Far cry from a few years ago.

GEC Education Hub is proceeding, the process just takes time at the City. Does not happen overnight. The application was just submitted this year - typically takes at least a year for approvals. The project is backed by a reputable developer and the CIBT group seems legitimate about moving forward with the project. They've been meeting their funding goals so far and have a well defined plan.

I don't disagree with your outlook but 50% of the projects on the books are on hold or about to expire still, some as recent as a few years ago. Where are the 3 new towers around Gateway that were approved? There are 4 around the new Anthem property. 1 by Park Avenue. Hollande Park project. 2 towers around SMH that are indefinitely on hold that were slated for medical in an area apparently BOOMING with medical development aka Surrey Professional?

I don't disagree, but in most other areas of Metro-Vancouver when a tower is approved by council, it is built, almost no questions asked. In Surrey, it is still not the case though it is definitely better in recent years but there have been and are still numerous towers that get approved then sit and never get built while their development permits expire. In a few cases, twice even after an extension.

I still will believe it when they start digging, pessimistic or not, I am just trying to be realistic.

[EhJay]

2nd and 3rd reading this month.

[Nites]

http://www.cibt.net/blog/2017/10/05/gec-...nd-reading-approval-surrey-city-council/

Final reading will be in November 2017. We might see construction early Spring 2018.

[Shift]

Planning report with some more renderings in it:

http://www.surrey.ca/bylawsandcouncillibrary/PLR_7917-0159-00%20(2).pdf

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Shift

Planning report with some more renderings in it:

http://www.surrey.ca/bylawsandcouncillibrary/PLR_7917-0159-00%20(2).pdf

Nice!
Hadn't realized that 55-storeys equated to 191-metre (625ft.)

[Flynn86]

I hope this tower gets passed

[Shift]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Nice!
Hadn't realized that 55-storeys equated to 191-metre (625ft.)

Yeah, will be the 2nd tallest in Metro Vancouver after Shangri-La (645'). Trump tower is 616'.

Also interesting is that the laneway will run through the podium of the building towards the back. You can see it where the notch is in the rendering below.






Also here are some contextual mock-ups of how it will fit into the surrounding future built-up area. You can see how it exceeds the height of Civic Plaza.

[Blease]

Interestingly, given the placement of the GEC building, it will likely block views of Mt. Baker from the 3 Civic building.

[Nites]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Nice!
Hadn't realized that 55-storeys equated to 191-metre (625ft.)

Maximum allowable height for the area is 195 meters according that report. I wonder what that is based on.

[Lev]

Vancouver, B.C., November 28th, 2017 – CIBT Education Group Inc. (TSX: MBA, OTCQX International: MBAIF) (“CIBT” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that the GEC® flagship education real estate project GEC Education Mega Center® (“Education Mega Center”) has received Advisory Design Panel (“ADP”) and First, Second and Third Reading approvals by Surrey City Council as of Monday, November 6th. These approvals are part of a series of 5 approvals required by Surrey City Bylaws to construct the Education Mega Center. On July 31st, 2017, the Education Mega Center project received ADP approval, followed by the First and Second Reading Approvals on October 2nd. A Public Hearing was held and Third reading approved on November 6th, 2017. Fourth and Final reading is slated for December 2017. Once Fourth reading is achieved, a Development Permit and Building Permit will become issuable in the following months and construction will begin accordingly. See pages 20 and 21 of the minutes of the Surrey City Council meeting which can be viewed here.

“We are excited about the development of the Education Mega Center,” commented Toby Chu, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of CIBT. “We are also pleased to report that the phase 2 equity raise of $38 million by GEC Education Mega Center Limited Partnership commenced on November 1st, 2017, with approximately $8 million in signed subscriptions having been committed to as of today, and the issuer is working to complete the balance in the coming months. Interest from domestic and overseas institutional investors has been strong. We look forward to the commencement of construction of North America’s first such project, to be situated at the heart of downtown Surrey, with a construction value exceeding $270 million.”

[Shift]

^Guessing a Spring 2018 start... like every other project coming up.