The rumble of excavators and the bustle of surveyors on a vacant property cornering the Cloverdale Bypass and 57 Avenue last week offered hopeful signs of activity on a long-awaited redevelopment project.
The activity coincided with a notice of construction to neighbouring businesses, circulated Friday by the Cloverdale Business Improvement Association, signaling site preparation for The Bristol is underway.
Developer Townline anticipates building permit approval is imminent for The Bristol, a four storey rental project at 5738 175 St. with 85 residential units – one and two bedroom apartments – with retail space on the ground floor.
It’s the first project to go ahead at the Cloverdale West Village site, formerly home to the Cloverdale Plaza shopping mall, which was torn down in 2011 to make way for redevelopment. It’s been plagued with stalled plans since, as developer partner Surrey City Development Corp. dealt with complications ranging from market fluctuations to environmental contamination stemming from a former dry cleaning operations.
Earlier this year, Townline set up a site trailer to accommodate crews, but the site has been fairly quiet until last week.
Officials with the company had hoped the building permit would be approved in March, with the project breaking ground in April and final completion in the summer of 2017.
A Townline first
The notice says crews are already working on site and that the completion date for the proposed development is winter 2017/2018.
The notice warns that while Townline “actively works to maintain a high standard of care on all active construction sites, disturbances may occur in spite of our best efforts.”
The project is the company’s first foray into Surrey’s historic town centre.
“We look forward to commencing work in the community and are excited to bring Townline’s first project to Cloverdale,” the notice says.