Greg Carr
2022-07-18 04:25:15 UTC
Went to try out Pricepro but they are closed on Sundays. Cpl young Indo girls hanging out there guess they had nothing better to do. Can the city get rid of Guardtek for library security some of the guys and gals are good but BSL and Hilton and Paladin are better. At Newton Library there is a memorial to someone on the 138 St side along with a horoscope in the trees. Nice flowers outside. Went to Newton Lake Park not one piece of litter way to go Surrey. Went to Frank Hurt Park in the back near the school a blue tent and dude has built a barricade. Some litter near the full garbage can.
How much did that new street at 70A just off KGH next to the mall or whatever cost? It only will serve one business the new Honey Motors but since the road is closed there is no way to exit or enter the business lot by vehicle. The nearby doggie park is well maintained but the sign says closed 2019. The road to it is also closed makes no sense to me. The new community center is to be built next to the doggie park but the new road will not access that.
Engage Surrey
Hi Greg Carr,
Thank you for your question on Newton Community Centre. Our response below has also been posted on the site.
The Newton Recreation Centre (with wave pool) opened in 1987 and was expanded in 2017 to meet the needs of the local growing population. This community has seen double digit population growth since the original building was constructed. While the recreation facility remains functional, it does not meet the city’s sustainability standards in terms of energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. Having more energy efficient buildings ultimately reduces operating costs. Through public consultation, it is intended to discover recreation, cultural and community gaps in programs/services that potentially could be addressed within the new facility.
The Surrey Libraries Facilities Master plan, recently reviewed by Council, (CR_2021-R140.pdf (surrey.ca)) identified a significant need for added size and capacity for libraries in the Newton area. In light of this, staff are envisioning a significant component of this project will include library amenities to complement existing capacity within Newton. Additional community input is needed to help plan a community tailored space.
https://engage.surrey.ca/1newton-community-centre
=============================================================
Still going to be only one bus route to the new location where the old Rona building was on KGH whereas the current rec center has at least ten bus routes right next to it.
https://groups.google.com/g/van.general/c/X_o6GpXrTwY/m/Vc_ruzsDCwAJ
The old Rona store sign stands near the demolished building, to make way for the future Newton Community Centre on the site, in the 6900-block of King George Boulevard. (Photo: Tom Zillich)
The old Rona store sign stands near the demolished building, to make way for the future Newton Community Centre on the site, in the 6900-block of King George Boulevard. (Photo: Tom Zillich)
VIDEO: Site of future Newton Community Centre picked without consultation, BIA says
For $90M project, city ‘bought the house and now they’re asking the kids where they want to live’
TOM ZILLICHMay. 5, 2021 12:23 p.m.LOCAL NEWSNEWSVIDEO
Site preparation has begun for the future Newton Community Centre, a $90 million project planned for the 6900-block of King George Boulevard, on the west side of Surrey’s busiest north-south road.
The former Rona store has been demolished on the site, and more demo work will continue in coming weeks.
“Geotechnical investigation” for the site has been completed, according to city hall, and a consultants’ team will soon be hired. “Design of the new community centre will begin in mid-May 2021, and construction will begin in the winter of 2022,” says a city-issued press release. “The new facility is expected to be open to the public by the end of 2024.”
But what about community consultation to this point?
It’s a question asked by Philip Aguirre, executive director of Newton Business Improvement Association (BIA). He wonders why the site was chosen for a community centre when the area’s “civic core” is located across the street, where an existing recreation centre stands, closer to 72nd Avenue.
“It just seems that it wasn’t very well planned out,” Aguirre told the Now-Leader on Wednesday (May 5). “We’ve had official community plans with years of consultation and then they announce a project like this, in the middle of it, on the other side of King George.
“A project like this, it’s just another example of how consultation isn’t being done in this city,” Aguirre charged. “The location is important, too. You know, with this (project) they’ve already bought the house and now they’re asking the kids where they want to live.”
Aguirre, who operates Old Surrey Restaurant, now closed due to the pandemic, posted to Twitter his thoughts about the future community centre, both before and after the City of Surrey posted a press release about the project.
The news release includes video of Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum talking about the project, and also shows him operating an excavator to knock down “the first wall” of the old Rona store, but makes no mention of community consultation related to the future community centre.
However, a post on the city’s website (surrey.ca) says “community engagement and facility utilization trends will guide the development process to determine facility needs and phased delivery of amenities.”
The $90 million budgeted for the project is for land acquisition and construction, according to the city’s latest capital plan.
“This new 75,000 sq. ft. community centre will offer multiple components, including, Library, Recreation, and Culture programming, similar to the Clayton Community Centre,” says a corporate report approved by the city council last fall. “Parks amenities will also be included on the site.
“The new facility will benefit the community of Newton,” the report adds. “The community centre will have cultural and arts services, seniors, youth, fitness, and recreation programming. It will also include gymnasiums, a weight room, multi-purpose rooms, a licensed preschool, and childcare and afterschool programming. The grounds will have passive and active sheltered and unsheltered park facilities for all ages to enjoy.”
In the news release, McCallum said he’s “proud of just how quickly we have been able to get this project moving. With the demolition underway, we are one step closer to bringing long overdue recreational opportunities to the residents of Newton. This new state-of-the-art facility is another vital step in the revitalization of this growing community.”
Aguirre said he has a meeting planned with Surrey parks and recreation staff to talk about the precise vision for Newton Community Centre.
“A project like this impacts the long-term outcome of the area,” Aguirre said, “and when we’re not consulted or part of the process to decide where it goes, I question that. I could be convinced if experts are telling me, ‘This is what we should be doing,’ but that has never happened, nobody has talked to me about that.”
In 2015 Aguirre pitched the idea of a spectator arena in the Newton Town Centre, as part of the BIA’s 20-year vision for the area.
“We had drawings done, and it didn’t really go anywhere,” he recalled. “It was a blue-sky idea about what we could imagine it to be. So then the question was about rapid transit, and the LRT was scrapped and now rapid transit won’t be coming to Newton for many years.… There are so many things up in the air, but now this is the plan, a new community centre.”
• RELATED STORY, from October 2020: Surrey buying 16 properties in Newton for parkland, civic amenities.
Last October, the city council unanimously authorized city staff to purchase 16 adjacent parcels of land in Newton for future parkland, road alignment and civic projects. The move involved 7.24 acres, part of which embraces the former site of the Rona store, which closed permanently on Jan. 26.
More details about Surrey’s capital projects for the next five years can be found on surrey.ca/about-surrey/capital-projects. They include Newton Community Centre, an interactive art museum in City Centre, City Centre Sports Complex, Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, Bear Creek Park Athletics Centre and other projects.
https://www.surreynowleader.com/news/video-future-site-of-newton-community-centre-cleared-without-consultation-bia-charges/
Homeless guy has set up at the bus stop at 73A Ave and KGH across from Brewster's Pub.
How much did that new street at 70A just off KGH next to the mall or whatever cost? It only will serve one business the new Honey Motors but since the road is closed there is no way to exit or enter the business lot by vehicle. The nearby doggie park is well maintained but the sign says closed 2019. The road to it is also closed makes no sense to me. The new community center is to be built next to the doggie park but the new road will not access that.
Engage Surrey
Hi Greg Carr,
Thank you for your question on Newton Community Centre. Our response below has also been posted on the site.
Why is this project going ahead? What is wrong with the current one other >than the inadequate toilet facilities? The current Newton Community Center >is next to the Newton Bus Loop with at least ten different buses stopping >there the proposed one only has one bus stopping there. When will Newton >get a library as good as Whalley/City Center or Guildford?
In December 2020, Council approved a plan to build a new community centre in Newton as part of the Surrey Invests 5 year capital projects program to meet the growing demand for recreation services in this community.The Newton Recreation Centre (with wave pool) opened in 1987 and was expanded in 2017 to meet the needs of the local growing population. This community has seen double digit population growth since the original building was constructed. While the recreation facility remains functional, it does not meet the city’s sustainability standards in terms of energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. Having more energy efficient buildings ultimately reduces operating costs. Through public consultation, it is intended to discover recreation, cultural and community gaps in programs/services that potentially could be addressed within the new facility.
The Surrey Libraries Facilities Master plan, recently reviewed by Council, (CR_2021-R140.pdf (surrey.ca)) identified a significant need for added size and capacity for libraries in the Newton area. In light of this, staff are envisioning a significant component of this project will include library amenities to complement existing capacity within Newton. Additional community input is needed to help plan a community tailored space.
https://engage.surrey.ca/1newton-community-centre
=============================================================
Still going to be only one bus route to the new location where the old Rona building was on KGH whereas the current rec center has at least ten bus routes right next to it.
https://groups.google.com/g/van.general/c/X_o6GpXrTwY/m/Vc_ruzsDCwAJ
The old Rona store sign stands near the demolished building, to make way for the future Newton Community Centre on the site, in the 6900-block of King George Boulevard. (Photo: Tom Zillich)
The old Rona store sign stands near the demolished building, to make way for the future Newton Community Centre on the site, in the 6900-block of King George Boulevard. (Photo: Tom Zillich)
VIDEO: Site of future Newton Community Centre picked without consultation, BIA says
For $90M project, city ‘bought the house and now they’re asking the kids where they want to live’
TOM ZILLICHMay. 5, 2021 12:23 p.m.LOCAL NEWSNEWSVIDEO
Site preparation has begun for the future Newton Community Centre, a $90 million project planned for the 6900-block of King George Boulevard, on the west side of Surrey’s busiest north-south road.
The former Rona store has been demolished on the site, and more demo work will continue in coming weeks.
“Geotechnical investigation” for the site has been completed, according to city hall, and a consultants’ team will soon be hired. “Design of the new community centre will begin in mid-May 2021, and construction will begin in the winter of 2022,” says a city-issued press release. “The new facility is expected to be open to the public by the end of 2024.”
But what about community consultation to this point?
It’s a question asked by Philip Aguirre, executive director of Newton Business Improvement Association (BIA). He wonders why the site was chosen for a community centre when the area’s “civic core” is located across the street, where an existing recreation centre stands, closer to 72nd Avenue.
“It just seems that it wasn’t very well planned out,” Aguirre told the Now-Leader on Wednesday (May 5). “We’ve had official community plans with years of consultation and then they announce a project like this, in the middle of it, on the other side of King George.
“A project like this, it’s just another example of how consultation isn’t being done in this city,” Aguirre charged. “The location is important, too. You know, with this (project) they’ve already bought the house and now they’re asking the kids where they want to live.”
Aguirre, who operates Old Surrey Restaurant, now closed due to the pandemic, posted to Twitter his thoughts about the future community centre, both before and after the City of Surrey posted a press release about the project.
The news release includes video of Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum talking about the project, and also shows him operating an excavator to knock down “the first wall” of the old Rona store, but makes no mention of community consultation related to the future community centre.
However, a post on the city’s website (surrey.ca) says “community engagement and facility utilization trends will guide the development process to determine facility needs and phased delivery of amenities.”
The $90 million budgeted for the project is for land acquisition and construction, according to the city’s latest capital plan.
“This new 75,000 sq. ft. community centre will offer multiple components, including, Library, Recreation, and Culture programming, similar to the Clayton Community Centre,” says a corporate report approved by the city council last fall. “Parks amenities will also be included on the site.
“The new facility will benefit the community of Newton,” the report adds. “The community centre will have cultural and arts services, seniors, youth, fitness, and recreation programming. It will also include gymnasiums, a weight room, multi-purpose rooms, a licensed preschool, and childcare and afterschool programming. The grounds will have passive and active sheltered and unsheltered park facilities for all ages to enjoy.”
In the news release, McCallum said he’s “proud of just how quickly we have been able to get this project moving. With the demolition underway, we are one step closer to bringing long overdue recreational opportunities to the residents of Newton. This new state-of-the-art facility is another vital step in the revitalization of this growing community.”
Aguirre said he has a meeting planned with Surrey parks and recreation staff to talk about the precise vision for Newton Community Centre.
“A project like this impacts the long-term outcome of the area,” Aguirre said, “and when we’re not consulted or part of the process to decide where it goes, I question that. I could be convinced if experts are telling me, ‘This is what we should be doing,’ but that has never happened, nobody has talked to me about that.”
In 2015 Aguirre pitched the idea of a spectator arena in the Newton Town Centre, as part of the BIA’s 20-year vision for the area.
“We had drawings done, and it didn’t really go anywhere,” he recalled. “It was a blue-sky idea about what we could imagine it to be. So then the question was about rapid transit, and the LRT was scrapped and now rapid transit won’t be coming to Newton for many years.… There are so many things up in the air, but now this is the plan, a new community centre.”
• RELATED STORY, from October 2020: Surrey buying 16 properties in Newton for parkland, civic amenities.
Last October, the city council unanimously authorized city staff to purchase 16 adjacent parcels of land in Newton for future parkland, road alignment and civic projects. The move involved 7.24 acres, part of which embraces the former site of the Rona store, which closed permanently on Jan. 26.
More details about Surrey’s capital projects for the next five years can be found on surrey.ca/about-surrey/capital-projects. They include Newton Community Centre, an interactive art museum in City Centre, City Centre Sports Complex, Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, Bear Creek Park Athletics Centre and other projects.
https://www.surreynowleader.com/news/video-future-site-of-newton-community-centre-cleared-without-consultation-bia-charges/
Homeless guy has set up at the bus stop at 73A Ave and KGH across from Brewster's Pub.