VIDEO ADDED: Surrey's tallest tower set to take shape in 2013
From a "glass box" grand lobby, to an indoor lap pool, Surrey's 3 Civic Plaza should provide a luxurious experience for residents and guests alike.
When completed, 3 Civic Plaza will feature the tallest tower south of the Fraser. The $125-milliion project is being built at Surrey Civic Plaza, near 103 Avenue and University Drive – the location of the new City Centre Library, relocated city hall, and future mixed-use performing arts centre building.
A residential tower is slated to rise more than 50 storeys high, with residences boasting some of the most impressive views in Surrey and the region beyond.
The 353 residential units will be located adjacent to the Civic Hotel, which will feature 144 rooms, a large meeting space to accommodate more than 300 people, street-level licensed restaurant and lounge, market café, indoor lap pool and hot tub, and fitness room.
The development will also include 50,000 square feet of office space.
With 37,000-40,000 guests per year expected at Civic Hotel, it is estimated that more than $3.6 million in revenues will be injected into local businesses and services each year, based on the average international visitor to Canada spending $99.60 per day in 2011 (Canadian Tourism Commission statistic).
Civic Hotel will also generate 50 full-time jobs and the overall project will create more than 200 jobs during construction.
Designed by Vancouver-based Cotter Architects and Portland-based ZGF Architects, the architecture and design of Civic Hotel reflect an international outlook and the city’s South Asian cultural influences.
A two-store
y “glass box” grand lobby will be shared by the residences, offices and hotel, functioning as a social hub.
The hotel roof will act as an amenity space for socializing and special events, offering guests a front row seat to activities taking place on the civic plaza below and providing views to sunrises over the mountains and sunsets over Vancouver Island.
Construction of 3 Civic Plaza will begin this year and the completion date is expected by the fall of 2015.
(Images are artist renderings of the project's gym/pool, the hotel lobby, and the outdoor Civic Plaza. To watch a VIDEO, visit: http://bit.ly/103sNm5).
"Fifty-five years of doing business (and) this is the most exciting project I've ever done," said Sean Hodgins, president of Century Group, which is partnering with Surrey City Development Corporation (SCDC) on the project.
SCDC was created by Surrey four years ago with the donation of city land and some start-up cash.
The corporation now works to help build projects for the betterment of Surrey, including this latest one, in which SCDC has $6 million in land invested as well as $7 million in cash.
Building a vibrant downtown core in City Centre has been a priority for Surrey for quite some time.
Other developments already completed or in the works include the RCMP E-Division headquarters ($1 billion) in Green Timbers Urban Forest; the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre ($300 million); SFU's 54,000-sq-ft. expansion Podium 2 ($10 million); the Critical Care Tower and ER expansion at Surrey Memorial Hospital ($500 million); and the new school district centre ($50 million).
In recent years in City Centre, there has been $1.1 billion worth of private sector development projects and $1.16 billion in public sector development.
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