The developer of Creekside Terrace says he hopes people will soon move into the 76-townhome project, built on the concrete slab of the old Surrey Public Market.
An occupancy permit isn't yet granted for the Ansu company development on King George Boulevard in Newton, and on Friday (Jan. 31) the real estate project's sales website wasn't working.
"In 2015 at Christmastime, we bought the land," developer Eddie Chiu told the Now-Leader on Jan. 11. "There is the creek here, and we have to improve the environmental, that's why it's been held up for 10 years, a very long time."
The homes sit atop the concrete parkade of the former public market, which operated until the late-1990s. The building then sat empty for close to 20 years, before it was torn down in 2017.
To clarify, two incarnations of Surrey Public Market existed, first in a wood building at the corner of 64 Avenue. Later, a new owner/operator built a more modern market structure about a hundred yards to the south, where the new Creekside Terrace development is located.
Coincidentally, the original market site is where Surrey council approved a development project with 282 apartments three weeks ago, on Jan. 13, for occupancy in 2027.
Work to build Creekside Terrace began in February 2022 when crews cleaned and started upgrading the long-dormant concrete slab. Signs on the property promised “West Vancouver style of living” and a rooftop garden.
"We had to upgrade everything with the structure, because downstairs was the parking for the market," Chiu said.
"It was a big job, and we spent a lot of money, a lot of money. We made sure that the structure can support the building like this. Before, it was just a market. Now it's very much heavier, and that's why I spent a lot of time, a lot of money, because there was a lot of testing, the structural engineer and making sure the city is happy with it."
Today, a mix of three- and five-bedroom townhomes are sold.
"We haven't really started the marketing yet because we are waiting for the occupancy permit, and yeah, people want to look inside and see this," Chiu said.
A bit of history at King George and 64 Avenue: Cloverdale Paint operated in a quonset hut-type building from 1956 to 1973. Several years passed before Wink Vogel welcomed food vendors as tenants and opened a market, after Scott Antiques and Surrey Auto Body had vacated the building.
As for the newer public market site, where Creekside Terrace is built, for two decades the vacant old building attracted rats, squatters, taggers, vandals, “urban explorers” and art photographers alike. For a look inside during that era, check out Jonathan Lee’s photos on jonathanreginaldlee.com/surrey-public-market.
