Surrey’s Infinity project will go on
Glenda Luymes
Province
Concord Pacific has entered into an agreement to complete the second phase of the $350-million, five-tower project in the heart of Surrey.
Construction on the second and third Infinity towers was halted in October when Korean company Jung Developments Inc. was forced to seek court protection from creditors after its main financier, American investment bank Lehman Brothers, collapsed.
“We’re certainly delighted to have Concord Pacific finish the project,” Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts said yesterday. “This announcement reinforces our confidence in the strength of Surrey‘s local economy.”
The mayor called the Infinity development a “gateway project” for the entire city.
“In terms of Surrey‘s metropolitan core, it’s a very significant development,” she said.
Details are still being worked out, but under the agreement, Concord Pacific will acquire and complete the second phase of the Infinity towers — two half-completed, 36-storey towers comprising 698 residential units.
The project’s first phase, a single 36-storey tower, has already been completed and occupied. It is unclear what will happen to plans for the final two towers, known as the Sky Towers, which were supposed be the tallest buildings between Vancouver and Calgary.
The entire development is planned for three hectares near the Surrey Central SkyTrain Station and Simon Fraser University‘s Surrey campus.
Concord senior vice-president Cliff McCracken said the company hopes to recommence construction on the two towers as soon as possible, removing “the uncertainty over this project.”
“It is also our intention to work with the stakeholders and original buyers of this development and help them to complete the purchases of their homes,” he added.
It is unclear how much money Concord Pacific will provide to complete the towers.
Media reports at the time the project was put on hold indicate sales for the two towers were expected to yield about $170 million, including the presale agreements. The cost to complete the project was estimated at less than $100 million.
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