City Centre 5 building will feature over 500 student and staff housing units and a newly expanded campus for Western Community College
Surrey, BC (March 6, 2024) – In an event announced this morning, the Health and Technology District, by Lark Group and ICT Group, is partnering with Western Community College (WCC) on a unique collaborative project featuring more than 500 student and faculty residential housing units, and an expanded campus site at the District’s latest development, City Centre 5 (CC5). WCC is experiencing significant growth in its hospitality and health and technology programs, which is driving its rapid expansion into the District.
Strategically located adjacent to Surrey Memorial Hospital and King George Skytrain station, City Centre 5 is part of the Health and Technology District, by Lark Group and ICT Group, a unique ecosystem where a growing cluster of professional, health, technology and academic-based organizations are focused on BC’s rapidly emerging health, education, skills and technology economy.
“We are blazing a trail in BC’s business and innovation landscape with the continuing expansion and accelerated momentum of Surrey’s Health and Technology District,” says Kirk Fisher, CEO of Lark Group. “The incredible demand for health, office, education space, and now student accommodations, as Surrey becomes BC’s largest City, has propelled us to accelerate the construction of our City Centre 5 building, with City Centre 6-9 already in the planning stages. Not only are we igniting Surrey’s innovation, health care and business landscapes, we’re creating access to local academic opportunities for future generations.”
The new WCC campus at City Centre 5 features 500 student and faculty residential housing space, including potential short term housing space to support the needs of local health care institutions. The expanded campus space includes a café and large dining hall supported by the college’s Bachelor of Hospitality internships and practicums, resident support offices, a multipurpose room, an Indigenous focused reflection space, laundry facilities, student study, lounge and kitchen area and bike storage spaces.
“I am proud to announce our groundbreaking initiative in collaboration with ICT Group and Lark Group to address the pressing need for student housing. Recognizing the challenges many students face in securing suitable accommodation, we are pioneering efforts to provide housing facilities for 500 students and faculty,” says Gurpal Dhaliwal, President, Western Community College. “As the first private institution in Surrey to tackle this issue head-on, we reaffirm our commitment to student success and well-being. By prioritizing access to safe and supportive housing, we ensure that all who come through our doors have the opportunity to pursue their dreams with confidence and peace of mind.”
Western Community College’s expanded campus within the District will become home to a growing network of researchers, entrepreneurs, educational institutions, and multinational and start-up companies that are collaborating with students and clinicians in a number of health care environments to accelerate the implementation of technologies and solutions to achieve health care improvements. The college currently has space in the District’s City Centre 3 building where their Bachelors of Hospitality Program students are based, with plans to expand additional programs into City Centre 4 and City Centre 5.
“The City of Surrey will soon become BC’s largest city and is forecasted to have a population of one million people as early as 2042,” says Mayor Brenda Locke, City of Surrey. “The investment being made today will pay dividends in bolstering health care in Surrey over the long term. It makes a lot of sense to train health professionals within the city in the hopes they will stay and work in Surrey upon graduation. I would like to thank Western Community College, Lark Group and ICT Group for leading the charge in expanding Surrey’s burgeoning Health and Technology District.”
A number of other high-profile organizations have recently expanded into the District, including UBC, which purchased space within the City Centre 1 building for their Midwifery and Master of Physical Therapy program for the South of Fraser region, with space that includes laboratories, seminar rooms, student learning commons, and multi-purpose spaces. In 2021, UBC also announced an additional $70-million purchase of an adjacent property that is anticipated to combine residential and commercial spaces to accommodate dedicated academic facilities.
Western Community College also has an existing presence within the District in City Centre 2 with their Surrey Board of Trade collaboration and the Surrey Technology and Skills Centre, which is a premier centre for research, business, and innovation. It features health and technology training programs, international partnerships, Surrey International Trade Centre expansion, an Indigenous Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre, a Cyber Crime Centre of Excellence, a Blockchain Centre of Excellence, an Immigration Innovation Lab, and entrepreneurship hubs for women and youth.
“Surrey is seeing more private sector investments because of the scope and depth of our population and to see educational institutions like Western Community College choosing Surrey especially in this downtown core around the Health and Technology District is a testament to the leadership and innovation the Lark Group and ICT Group brings to Surrey,” says Anita Huberman, President and CEO, Surrey Board of Trade.
ICT Group and Lark Group’s City Centre 5 building is currently under construction and is slated for completion in Q3 2028. For more information, visit www.healthandtechnologydistrict.com.
