Another chapter is being written in the ongoing, 26-year saga of a long-vacant commercial building in Surrey.
A listing for court-ordered sale has been posted for the so-called 104 Avenue Centre located on the Whalley-Guildford border, on the south side of 104 Avenue at 142 Street.
Constructed in 1998, the 274,285-square-foot building has become notorious for never having any commercial tenants over the past two-plus decades, with multiple owners involved.
Two years ago Kuldeep Bansal purchased the building for $55 million and later said it was fully leased, but today there's still no sign of commercial activity in the "campus style" complex, which occupies an entire city block.
On Wednesday (June 12), Colliers listed the court-ordered sale of the building as "a significant and well-connected opportunity in Surrey."
Bill Randall, executive VP of the real estate company, said he's been involved in the building for 20 years, dating back to previous owners. Reached Friday, he confirmed Bansal as the current owner, and list price of $63 million.
"I think that everyone is working together to find a good solution for the building, whether that is by way of a sale or by way of a lease or several leases," Randall told the Now-Leader.
"The important thing here is that the lenders and the owner, everyone, along with us, we're trying to work together to find a positive solution for the property," Randall added. "This is a bit of a positive spin on this, but there is equity in the building. You know, the mortgage holders are well-protected. (The court-ordered sale) is not because there's a negative-equity situation here."
In 2021 the Now-Leader was given a tour of the building by Ron Emerson, rep for then-owner Donald Pitt.
This week, in an eight-page sales brochure posted online, Colliers notes the 2024 BC Assessment value of the building at more than $114 million.
"Take advantage of fantastic exposure on 104th Avenue, one of Surrey’s most prominent and highly travelled thoroughfares," the brochure trumpets. "Flexible zoning and additional density on site give options for the future, while the property as-is offers endless opportunity for a variety of uses."
Randall says there is "a lot of activity — leasing activity and potential-sale activity" for the building.
"There are building permits that have been issued," he said. "Because of the age of the building, it needs to be brought up to code and so there's some additional money that needs to be spent. I think that with the money to bring up to code and then to do some tenant improvements, it's a fairly significant cost, which is fine. I just think that the financing stuff has become more difficult. On the face of it, everything is fine."
Most observers are keen to have some sort of activity happen on the high-profile site, including Anita Huberman, CEO and president of Surrey Board of Trade.
"I have seen some film production activity twice this year over there, but apart from that, nothing," Huberman said.
"They should just tear it down, or the city or the Surrey City Development Corporation, they should buy it and build a performing arts centre or a hotel and convention centre or something that is a destination asset for our city," Huberman added.
With the building, developers originally planned for an Asian-themed “showmart” facility in the late-1990s, but those plans were scrubbed.
American lawyer Donald Pitt, who helped launch the Phoenix Suns NBA basketball team decades ago, bought the building in the mid-2000s. Construction was completed at that time. Since then, prospective renters and/or buyers have included Fraser Health, Simon Fraser University and RCMP, but all deals eventually didn’t happen.
Potential uses pitched for the building have included banquet hall, office space, homes, restaurants, bowling alley, even an auto-sales lot on the ground floor, none of which ever materialized.
