[Surrey] Park Avenue | 124m & 118m | 36 & 40 Floors | Complete

[westcoast604]

[IMG][/IMG]


Developer: Young-In Development
Use: Residential
Location: 137th St & 100 Ave

http://www.skycentralcity.com


Two high rise condominium projects are set to help define the skyline of Surrey’s City Centre.

The 36 and 40-storey Sky Towers are being developed by Young In Development headed up by CEO and South Korean businessman Hee Yong Yang. He is the same developer that took over responsibility for Surrey’s Infinity Towers.

The two new towers are expected to cost about $350 million and include 900 housing units.

When complete, the two structures will be the tallest buildings found between Vancouver and Calgary.

In addition to the housing units, each tower will feature a sky top solarium with a 50-foot glass atrium as well as a 4,000 square foot terrace.

The architect of the project said that he took an unusual approach to the development.

“We made the rooftop fully accessible to the residents,” says Patrick Cotter, from Patrick Cotter Architecture Inc.

He added that the top of such structures is generally considered prime real estate and not designed for the majority of tenants.

“The view is going to be so striking, it didn’t seem fair to give it one penthouse owner,” he says.

Cotter added that the top of the buildings will be quite distinctive.

“They (politicians in Surrey) wanted buildings that will be landmarks,” he says. “And these buildings accomplish that.”

The towers will make the most of adjacent green space and the 360 view of the Lower Mainland.

“We wanted to take full advantage of the unique site and setting for the new buildings,” he says.

Scheduled amenities include two entertainment rooms for large parties, two double height lounges, two theatre rooms and a 2,383 square foot fitness centre. All seven towers are a $1 billion endeavour and are expected to bring 2,900 housing units to market.

Infinity’s first tower is scheduled for completion in early 2008 with the second and third towers currently under construction.

They are expected to be completed in 2009.

The 36-storey SkyTower should be built by 2010 with the 40-storey tower scheduled to be completed the following year.

“The plan is to transform it (Surrey’s Central City) into a downtown core,” says Bryon Lee, a spokesman for Yang.

“The Infinity project was a cornerstone project in changing Surrey.”

He said that Yang recognized a need for this type of development.

“We see there is a lot of demand,” he said. “He saw an opportunity there.” The company, Incorporated Jung Developments, headed up by Yang, took over financing and construction of all five Infinity Towers after the first developer was unable to complete the project.

Yang moved to Vancouver in 2004 from South Korea, where he found success as the founder of the fast food chicken franchise Pelicana.

The fast food chain includes more than 2,000 restaurants across the country. Infinity and Sky Towers are Yang’s first foray into condominium development, although he has developed property as part of his fast food chicken franchise.

[giallo]

Solid looking towers. Any colour renderings?

[Volksboi]

Yea I agree, you wont be able to reconize surrey soon

[Cypherus]

Surrey is starting to give Metrotown a run for its money when it comes to high-rise clusters outside of downtown Vancouver.

[Canadian Mind]

those are... big. What is the floorplate on the 40 storey building? looks alot more than the typical 10 000-12 000 point tower... looks more like a 20-25 000 square foot Philadelphia commie-block tower... but with a much nicer exterior.

[officedweller]

The floorplate on the first Infinity tower is bigger than a Vancouver tower, too.

Looks like the scale of some of Surrey's buildings will be more "big city" (height and width) than Vancouver's.


**************
Anyone else notice that there are two versions of the renderings?

The one above shows the mechanical penthouse enclosed with a rectangular glass box - the latest ones I've seen in the newspaper show the mechanical penthouse enclosed with a taller wedge-shaped structure (which I'm not sure if I like).

Here's the pic from Canada.com. Only one is visible in the pic, but both have the same mechanical penthouse.

[raggedy13]

Well the wedge thing certainly makes them look a little less run-of-the-mill. Depending on how they pull it off, it could end up looking a little too tacked on though.

[paradigm4]

This is a picture of Inifinity Phase II beginning construction, but behind it, across the street, on the right side of the pic, is where the Sky Towers will be built.

[westcoast604]

^ By Surrey Towers, you mean Sky Towers - Thread topic.

It looks as though Infinity 3 is also under construction in that pic. Infinity 2 would be off to the far left of the pit, behind the underground parking structure. You can see the elevator shaft starting to form for the 3rd tower to the right. Maybe we will see another crane go up soon?

[officedweller]

That makes sense, as towers 2 and 3 were sold together as Phase 2.

[westcoast604]

^Correcto..and Towers 2 & 3 were both included on the same development permit application.

[androo3]

I am a little confused with regard to this development. By the looks of the address these towers are right by the Infinity. Are they in the same area as infinity which would make them Infinity 4 and 5? Or are these the towers across the street that was going to be king george tower at 80 storeys but is now 2 towers half the size. Now either way those were both Jung not young in. So is Young In a spin off of Jung Developments or is this something new and I am totally lost as to where they are going?

[westcoast604]

These two towers are across the street from the 5-tower Infinity project. It is a separate development. Yes it is on the speculated site of the proposed 80-storey tower. That site was never confirmed though, just rumoured as the same site as this, on this board. So this could quite possibly have nothing to do with the once proposed Jung 80-Storey tower proposal, that wasn't even an official proposal to begin with.

[androo3]

Thanks that clears it up for me!

[Calgarian]

Looks like Surrey is adopting the "Calgary Twin" desigh (twin towers with different heights), hopefully this doesn't happen with a lot of your towers.

[raggedy13]

^Too late I'm afraid, the "Calgary Twin" design is already fairly common among suburban condos as well as those in downtown Vancouver. Personally I'd prefer it if some of them (especially the ones downtown - if it weren't for height restrictions) were just combined into a taller tower.

[Calgarian]

I would prefer to have 2 different towers than twins personally.

[raggedy13]

Sky Towers to help transform Surrey Central
Towers the cornerstone of new downtown community

Michael Kane, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, October 05, 2007



Surrey's Central City area will get the two tallest towers between Vancouver and Calgary under plans unveiled Thursday by a Korean businessman.

The 36-storey and 40-storey residential Sky Towers will be directly across the street from the five Infinity highrises being built at the King George SkyTrain station in the formerly run-down Whalley neighbourhood.

With the first Infinity tower ready for occupancy in January, and four more towers on the way, the addition of the Sky Towers enhances the city's goal of turning Central City into Surrey's downtown community, Mayor Dianne Watts said in an interview.

This really fits into our vision for our city centre," Watts said. "The seven towers here are going to be just the cornerstone for the whole entrance into city centre."

She said applications are being processed for several more towers, both residential and commercial, over the next five years.

Hee Yong 'Edmond' Yang, who operates a 2,000-outlet fried chicken franchise in South Korea, took over the Infinity project after the previous developer, also Korean, faltered under a heavy debt load.

Designed by Patrick Cotter Architects, Sky Towers will contain 900 one- and two-bedroom suites, as well as 56 townhouses, with studios starting at $179,900.

Each tower will include a 1,000-square-foot rooftop solarium with 50-foot glass atriums, along with a 4,000 square foot rooftop patio offering unrestricted views.

The 36-storey Sky Tower is scheduled for completion in 2010, followed by the 40-storey tower.

"With Sky Towers and the Infinity project, we're looking to build a dense urban mecca," said Cameron McNeill of MAC Real Estate Marketing Solutions.

At its heart is the Surrey campus of Simon Fraser University, along with shops, restaurants and recreational facilities, all within walking distance of SkyTrain.

"If we look ahead five or 10 years, Central City is going to be one of the most significant urban centres in Western Canada," McNeill said in an interview. "Surrey is one of Canada's fastest growing cities and this is their downtown core."

Unlike Burnaby's Metrotown, which he likened to a mall surrounded by residential highrises, McNeill said Central City will become "a fully-integrated urban centre in a most modern sense, a mini downtown Vancouver."

With 150 homes priced at less than $250,000 -- almost half the cost of similar units in Vancouver -- he said it will also be highly affordable.

By "trying to deliver high-quality residences at affordable prices," Yang, 46, is living up to the three principles that have governed his life, said his spokesperson, lawyer Byron Lee.

"First of all you have to be a good person with a good heart. Secondly, whatever you do, you should try to do things righteously and honestly. Thirdly, you shouldn't be in business only to make money but you should aim at benefitting others."

Lee said Yang, who immigrated to Canada with his wife and three children in 2002, is looking for opportunities to build additional homes in the area.

"He thinks Central City will become a vibrant downtown community. It's very livable with a lot of amenities."

TOWERS IN THE SKY

- When complete, the combined Infinity and Sky Towers project will include seven highrise buildings located near the King George SkyTrain station in the Central City area of Surrey.

- The combined development will add 2,900 condominium suites to the area and is worth $1 billion.

- The second and third Infinity towers are under construction and are expected to be completed in 2009. A total of five Infinity towers will be built.

- Sky Towers presales will start later this month for 900 units which include studios, one- and two-bedroom units, and townhouses. Prices start at $179,900, with 150 units under $250,000.

Who's behind the project:

- Hee Yong (Edmond) Yang is CEO of Young In Development which has taken over financing and construction of both Infinity and Sky Towers.

- Yang is a founder of Pelicana, a chicken franchise that began with one restaurant in Daejeon, South Korea, in 1982 and has now grown to over 2,000 restaurants, meat packing plants and warehouses, according to a press release.

- Yang says he moved from South Korea to Vancouver in 2002 to find a better life for his family.

[SFUVancouver]

A fifteen-storey banner for Sky Towers has been hung on the first Infinity tower.

[Volksboi]

Yea I walked by there today, great marketing idea....Cant wait to see this all finished...