Central City (formerly known as Surrey Place Mall) is a

mixed-use development Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...

that houses a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

, a university campus and an office tower complex in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, British Columbia, Canada. It is owned by Blackwood Partners Management Corporation. The Central City tower, main entrance and galleria were designed by

Bing Thom Architects Bing Wing Thom, (Chinese: 譚秉榮; 8 December 1940 – 4 October 2016) was a Canadian architect and urban designer. Born in Hong Kong, he immigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with his family in 1950. The tower houses one of the three

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

campuses. The complex is located near two SkyTrain stations –

Surrey Central Surrey Central was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, used in the 1997 and 2000 elections to elect a Member of Parliament for the 36th and 37th Parliaments, respectively. The electoral district was created, in 1996, as pa ...

and King George – and is the second-largest shopping centre in Surrey after

Guildford Town Centre Guildford Town Centre is a shopping mall located in Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. It opened on November 8, 1966, and is owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge, a Quebec-based real estate company. It is the largest mall in the Low ...

History and development

Burger and fries presentation (6817351537)

Originally, the shopping centre was built in the 1970s as Surrey Place Mall, a standalone shopping centre, and was managed and owned by the

Insurance Corporation of British Columbia The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) is a provincial Crown corporation in British Columbia providing insurance. ICBC was created in 1973 by the NDP government of Premier Dave Barrett. By law, any vehicle registered and driven o ...

. It underwent renovations and refurbishments throughout the 1980s and 1990s; however, the popularity of Guildford Town Centre began to challenge the mall's position as a dominant shopping centre in Surrey. In the late 1990s, the foot traffic of the mall suffered severely and many stores became untenanted. However, in 1999, part of the mall was sold off and was redeveloped, with the addition of an expansion to the mall including a new podium and a high-rise office tower also known as the Central City tower. From 2003 to 2017, the Central City tower was the tallest building in Surrey. In 2007, the rest of Central City mall was sold to Blackwood Partners Management Corporation. The mall was affected by the closings of Target Canada and Future Shop, but

Walmart Canada Walmart Canada is the Canadian subsidiary of Walmart which is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario. It was founded on March 17, 1994, with the purchase of the Woolco Canada chain from the F. W. Woolworth Company. Originally consisting of disco ...

took over Target Canada's location along with Future Shop's former

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

-branded location. , given the mixed use of the complex—which includes space dedicated to retail, educational, and office uses—along with an increase in residential condominium density in the surrounding area, the mall has become busier than it was in the preceding decade.

Anchor tenants

Current

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

Winners Winners Merchants International L.P is a chain of off-price Canada, Canadian department stores owned by TJX Companies. It offers brand name clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, fine jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. Products are at a ...

The Brick The Brick Ltd. is a Canadian retailer of furniture, mattresses, appliances and home electronics. The company was founded as The Brick Warehouse LP by brothers, John, Fred, and Bill Comrie. The first warehouse opened on September 1, 1971 in Ed ...

Shoppers Drug Mart Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. (named Pharmaprix in Quebec) is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based in Toronto, Ontario. It has more than 1,300 stores in nine provinces and two territories. The company was founded by pharmacist Murray Koffler in 1962 ...

T & T Supermarket T&T Supermarket () is a Canadian supermarket chain that sells primarily Asian foods. The company is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia. In 1993, the first T&T was opened in Burnaby's Metropolis at Metrotown, a shopping centre in the Me ...

Dollarama Dollarama is a Canadian dollar store retail chain headquartered in Montreal. Since 2009 it is Canada's largest retailer of items for five dollars or less. Dollarama has over 1400 stores and has a presence in every province of Canada; Ontario has ...

Former

Zellers Zellers was a Canadian discount department retail chain and is currently a brand name owned by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Founded in 1931 in London, Ontario, in later decades it was based in Brampton, Ontario. Zellers was acquired by HBC i ...

– in former The Bay location, closed February 11, 2013; was replaced by Target on November 13, 2013 * The Bay – closed May 8, 2000, Zellers relocated in this space, now Walmart *

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

– closed June 4, 2005, (now T & T Supermarket) *

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

– in former Zellers location, (opened November 13, 2013, closed April 1, 2015); replaced by Walmart on February 25, 2016 *

Future Shop Future Shop was a Canadian electronics store chain. It was established in 1982 by Hassan Khosrowshahi. By 1990, the chain had become the country's largest retailer of computer and consumer electronics. In January 2013, the company operated 139 l ...

– closed March 28, 2015, due to consolidation as Best Buy; reopened as Best Buy in late 2015 *

Bed Bath & Beyond Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is an American chain of domestic merchandise retail stores. The chain operates many stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971. It is counted among the Fortune 5 ...

– closed January 2020

Simon Fraser University

Unlike other shopping centres in the region, and owing to its unique two-stage development, the main building of

's Surrey campus is located within the mall and occupies a major portion () of the podium floors. The central atrium of the mall, similar to the hull of a ship, consists of retail space on the ground floor and provides a direct line of sight towards the campus hallways and classrooms on the upper floors.

Transportation

Central City Shopping Centre is accessible to the regional SkyTrain system, with the closest station being

Surrey Central station Surrey Central is an elevated station on the Expo Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located in the Whalley / City Centre district of Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in ...

. The terminus

King George station King George is an elevated station on the Expo Line (SkyTrain), Expo Line of Metro Vancouver Regional District, Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain (Vancouver), SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located in the south end of the Surrey City Cen ...

is also within five minutes' walking distance to the south. The Surrey Central bus loop is adjacent to Surrey Central station and serves as a transfer point to several routes which serve the region.

Gallery

File:Ctrl-city1.jpg, Central City's interiors, looking south File:Ctrl-city2.jpg, Central City's interiors, looking north File:SFU Surrey, 28 mars 2008, 2.jpg, Entrance void File:Central city plaza lehoux.jpg, Central City entrance File:Surrey Central City Shopping Centre & Office Tower (High Rise Tower view-2011).jpg, Central City viewed from a high-rise tower File:Centralcityshoppingcentrefoodcourt.jpg, Mall food court looking east

External links

Central City Shopping Centre official siteSimon Fraser University Surrey

References

{{Shopping Malls in Metro Vancouver Shopping malls in Metro Vancouver Shopping malls established in 2003 2003 establishments in British Columbia Buildings and structures in Surrey, British Columbia