DEVELOPMENT: Proposal announced despite financial woes
GLENDA LUYMES
Province
Planning for a billion-dollar development in Surrey’s centre is underway despite the global credit crunch.
Berezan Management Ltd. says it will spend $1.6 billion to construct five towers on four hectares of land near the King George SkyTrain station over the next 10 to 15 years.
One of the buildings is proposed to be 70 storeys high, which would make it one of B.C.’s tallest buildings.
“We are very excited about this project,” said company president Ralph Berezan. “Despite the current level of economic uncertainty, we are confident in the long-term potential of Surrey’s city centre.”
Berezan currently has an option to purchase the property, but construction is not planned for any time soon.
It could take more than two years to get the necessary building permits — by which time finance for the project may be easier to secure.
The proposals include a 70-storey office and residential building, a 55storey hotel and three residential towers. They would sit on a shopping mall with movie theatres and gardens.
The announcement comes despite the fact that two other projects near King George Highway have recently run into financial difficulties.
Jung Development Inc.’s Infinity project had to seek court protection from creditors in October after its main financier, American investment bank Lehman Brothers, collapsed.
Jung’s Sky Towers project was also put on hold after it failed to secure financing within the one-year limit.
Plans for Surrey city centre took a further hit when the second phase of the Quattro development went up in flames last month.
But in a recent interview, Surrey mayor Dianne Watts remained optimistic. “There is certainly confidence in terms of our city centre and the vision of where we want to go with it,” she said.