Surrey City Centre Redevelopment Plans - Page 38

CoryHolmes · #**741** Posted **May 14, 2011, 3:59 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by invisibleairwaves

I think it's pretty much obvious that D'Corize is an absolute mess at street level, and it definitely makes me question City Hall's commitment to the whole "second metropolitan core" thing.

Why hate the 'Rize? I like it.

Whalleyboy · #**742** Posted **May 14, 2011, 4:37 AM**

he hates it cause lack of retail i think

invisibleairwaves · #**743** Posted **May 14, 2011, 4:42 AM**

Lack of retail and a friggin' parking garage entrance right on one of the most prominent intersections in the city. It's a complete waste.

Sprawl · #**744** Posted **May 14, 2011, 6:47 AM**

19 new SCC Library photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/surreycitycentrelibrary/

Surrey City Centre Library http://flic.kr/p/9Hbr8Z

Surrey City Centre Library http://flic.kr/p/9Hemy3

officedweller · #**745** Posted **May 16, 2011, 5:39 AM**

Anyone else think it's poor design that the angled mullions do not match/meet up at the corners?

dreambrother808 · #**746** Posted **May 16, 2011, 4:57 PM**

It's a flaw, for sure. Otherwise, wow, I love this building.

CoryHolmes · #**747** Posted **May 17, 2011, 6:37 PM**

It's not a flaw, it's a deliberate design choice to prevent our merely mortal minds from breaking at the sight of such pure perfection.

whalley13 · #**748** Posted **May 18, 2011, 4:58 PM**

Demo has started at 132/old yale road for the civic plaza condo project.....looks huge they got most of the block on old yale fenced off

GMasterAres · #**749** Posted **May 18, 2011, 5:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by invisibleairwaves

Lack of retail and a friggin' parking garage entrance right on one of the most prominent intersections in the city. It's a complete waste.

/agree on both fronts.

I'm the first person to point out that for Downtown Vancouver, around 80% of all buildings in the core lack retail, but the majority of those aren't on major roads. To me the ring roads or whatever they want to be called now are major roads and every development along them should have retail at the base. Every single one.

That's why I have part agreed with the Sky Towers gripe about currently no retail. I can argue that it is mainly facing 100th, but the portion facting Walley Blvd _should_ have retail. Just like Park Place _should_ have retail. Everything along that road should. Everything along KGB should. Everything along University Bvd. _should_.

If it is on another road then sure don't. Not only that but isn't D'corize fronting University & 104th? 104th is also a major road which _should_ have retail. So it's a double whammy. I like the building itself from 2nd floor UP but ground level RETAIL C'MON!

SFUVancouver · #**750** Posted **May 19, 2011, 2:45 AM**

^ Hear hear!

I absolutely agree with the need to start establishing retail streets now. Mandating retail at grade on the streets you described is as important as mandating continuous street walls, no surface parking, and a servicing and underground parking entrance strategy that begins with the principle that these aspects of civic life should not take place on the city's primary downtown retail streets.

In the new plan for the city streets of Central Surrey, have laneways or service lanes been included? If not then a major piece of what makes many moden downtowns successful has been missed. I know that lanes are not absolutely necessary, and Portland, for example, gets along just fine without them in its downtown, South Waterfront, or Pearl District neighbourhoods.

There are trade offs to not having lanes, most notably is the number of driveways that cross the sidewalk. These generate unfortunate vehicle dwell conditions as automobiles block or limit pedestrian movement while they edge forward and wait for a break in traffic to proceed.

The other major issue that a lack of lanes generates is how waste and recycling are handled. Typically these are brought to street level to await pick-up by their respective haulers. To accommodate this approach the garbage and recycling are left on the sidewalk or in designated on-street loading areas that may be shared at diffetent times of day or times in the week with on-street parking. In many cities like Portland where downtowns lack lanes the common historical response to address the need for loading and servicing has been to have each building operate an in-sidewalk elevator that allow businesses and residents to bring their bagged or binned garbage and recycling up from the basement to the sidewalk where it is left on the curb for the haulers.

For Surrey's city centre the main streets lack on-street parking and this poses problems of its own for fledgling retail in a still largely automobile oriented city. Banning surface parking in the city centre is also essential and the historic practice of retail plazas and individual businesses offering exclusive surface parking to their customers with time limits and penalties for misuse by customers who may wish to shop in the vicinity results in a huge over supply of surface parking and a set of rules and cutural norms that require people to drive from business to business. In this context the prevelence of strip malls and shopping centres makes perfect sense because they offer free parking and the ability to shop at multiple stores without having to drive and find parking again.

Hopefully the mistakes and lessons of the initial projects like D'Corize and Park Place/Infinity will quickly yield changes to zoning or applicable bylaws in order to not get stuck in under performing practices that will be hard to fix or repair once they have taken hold.

Gaijin Punch · #**751** Posted **May 25, 2011, 7:29 PM**

I think it's easy to say lets ban surface parking in the entire downtown core, but street parking isn't enough for the amount of retail in Central Surrey. I don't know the current land prices in that area, but it costs A LOT to dig down and create underground parking, or even a shared parking garage. It's easy enough to do in downtown Vancouver because land prices are so high, it doesn't effect the pro forma of the development to dig down, but are the land prices in Surrey high enough to do this?

Suburban surface parking costs about $1,500 to $2,000 per space. It jumps to $8,000 to $10,000 for above-grade structure, or $18,000 to $25,000 for underground.

Also, retail lease rates in Central Surrey range from $15 to $30 / SF which isn't high enough yet to warrant the elimination of surface parking. And I don't think tax payers would want the city to subsidize developers right now to eliminate the surface parking lots.

I think over time as land values continue to increase and rents push over $30 SF, the city will be able to eliminate some of the surface lots you see all over Central Surrey, but it could take 10-15-20 years.

In my best case scenario, a nice mix of esthetically pleasing parking garages along with some surface lots tucked behind retail would work best.

I do agree that the time limits and penalties of misuse by customers are ridiculous though. Makes you get in your car and drive across the street instead of walking.

CoryHolmes · #**752** Posted **May 25, 2011, 7:43 PM**

Can anyone get me a map of Holland Park? The one linked to from the Surrey webpage is terrible. Specifically, I'd like one that has all the walking/running paths on it.

I remember that the loop is supposed to be 1km but I just walked it yesterday and it doesn't seem to be nearly that long.

Whalleyboy · #**753** Posted **May 26, 2011, 12:54 AM**

it should be noted that a huge amount of underground parking is being planned for the civic plaza area. Its gonna be 3 levels and hold 856 spots for parking.

officedweller · #**754** Posted **May 26, 2011, 10:25 PM**

As an aside, Pacific Centre in Vancouver has new signs up posting the number of available parking spaces - the highest number I've ever seen in about 1400 spaces available (if I recall correctly)

whalley13 · #**755** Posted **May 27, 2011, 12:36 AM**

Is the underground parking going into the BRICK lot? i saw them doing excavation and dirt removal there...seems like more that water main fix up

Whalleyboy · #**756** Posted **May 27, 2011, 1:10 AM**

Nope all three levels are in the plaza/library/city hall area If you look at the renders of the plaza you can see the roadway to the underground parking entrance

Whalleyboy · #**757** Posted **May 28, 2011, 8:14 AM**

heres a 3d model of the new city hall for google sketch up
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=957b6b0c86b384ba8bece9212bf79f08&ct=mdsa

Diet Butcher · #**758** Posted **May 30, 2011, 9:17 PM**

Did anyone attend the SFU Surrey Open House on the Weekend? Any word on Residence building progress?

Diet Butcher · #**759** Posted **Jun 18, 2011, 6:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by whalley13

Fencing has gone up at 132 and old yale looks like demo happening there soon for condo project and civic area

These old Houses have now been demolished on the corner of Old Yale and 132 and there's a Green Development sign there for 100+ condo units.

theQ · #**760** Posted **Jun 19, 2011, 7:11 AM**

There was an article about it on the CivicSurrey website.

http://www.civicsurrey.com/2010/11/30/4-storey-condo-planned-for-old-yale-road-pics/

I'm glad that they're finally moving on this project - I live across the street in the Fuse... Those old condemned houses have been an eye sore since we moved in a couple of years ago!