Revitalizing Whalley

Surrey City Centre Library (Architect's Design)

For more than twenty years, Surrey has been advertising itself as the "Second City" in the Lower Mainland, soon to be a rival in every way to Vancouver.  The centre of this new city was to be near the Surrey Place Mall in Whalley, a trashy neighborhood, originally settled in the 1920's by those who couldn't afford property nearer Vancouver north of the Fraser River.

For the most part, this ambition has been more a dream than a reality.

A few things actually did happen. SkyTrain came to Surrey in 1993, with Whalley stations of Gateway, Surrey Central, and King George.  The long-promised University of the Fraser Valley, originally planned for Cloverdale, became Tech BC (1999) and then the Surrey campus of Simon Fraser University (2002), located in a tower built at Surrey Place.

City Council did change a few names.  Surrey Place Mall became Central City Shopping Centre.  The main thoroughfare, King George Highway, became King George Boulevard.  East Whalley Ring Road became Whalley Boulevard; West Whalley Ring Road became University Drive; and 135th Street became City Parkway.


But now a few new projects are actually under construction.  A 75,000 square foot, four story, regional library will be opened next year.  Next door will be a new recreation centre.

Library under construction, SkyTrain (Left) and SFU Surrey

A new City Hall will be built next year near the new library, south of 104th Avenue, replacing the current City Hall on 56th Avenue. 

We can keep our fingers crossed that these projects continue, and that Surrey City Centre can start attracting the financial and commercial enterprises which someday might revitalize this neighborhood.