city of surrey denies it wasted taxpayer money in pricey land acquisitions
5 minute read
parking lot of a former safeway store at 10355 king george blvd. in surrey that may be the future site of a new arena and cultural event centre project.
jason payne
/
png
the city of surrey is denying mounting accusations it got bum deals in two recent — and pricey — land acquisitions, insisting the transactions are beneficial to the city.
the city completed a land swap agreement with private developer wesgroup properties in which it agreed to give up three city-owned sites — two industrial sites in campbell heights and a shopping centre in cedar hills — in exchange for a former safeway site and parking lot.
the city intends to build a 10,000-seat arena on the site as a way to kickstart creation of an entertainment hub in the city’s centre that would also include a luxury hotel, conference space and housing.
opposition coun. linda annis, who voted against the deal, said the city essentially paid $114 million in land for the new site at 10355 king george blvd., even though its assessed value is $86.8 million.
“the mayor brushed off questions and said it was a simple land swap, but when you look at the assessed value of the city property and the value of the wesgroup properties site, taxpayers got the short end of the stick and ended up paying $28 million more than the assessed value of the arena site,” annis said in a news release.
the head of the city’s development company, bill aujla, said tuesday the criticisms are misguided.
“land transactions aren’t done on assessed values,” said aujla, ceo of surrey city development corporation. “land transactions are typically done on appraisals. … i think we did make sure we had a fair deal for both sides.”
aujla provided a copy of a report by ey-parthenon corporate finance inc., a company that examined the land deal for the city. the report found the deal fell “within a reasonable range of the appraised values or broker opinion of values, which suggests that the city is achieving market values for the properties.”
aerial concept image of a 10,000-seat arena and entertainment district proposed by surrey.
city of surrey
advertisement
the company concluded that the value of the future arena site is $116.6 million, which is the same combined value of the lands the city traded away. the report also noted that wesgroup had not been offering the former safeway property for sale and had a four-tower project underway.
“it is reasonable to assume that in a scenario like this, it would be very challenging for the city to secure a discounted transaction price, especially when it is understood that the location is strategic for the arena and entertainment hub development,” the report said.
aujla added that the location made more sense than what was previously considered — the b.c. lions training facility at tom binnie park in whalley.
the new location is across from city hall and the surrey central skytrain station and already has underground parking. king george boulevard is also expected to have bus rapid transit line running through it once the project secures funding.
“it’s not just about the fight as of today, it’s what you’re creating for the future economic development, the jobs, the success of the entertainment district,” aujla said.
for some, the explanation isn’t enough. mayoral candidate mike starchuk said he is filing a petition in b.c. supreme court seeking a judicial review of the land swap.
“i don’t see anyone else stepping forward, so i will, in my capacity as a resident and taxpayer,” starchuk said. “what i do see are city council procedures not being followed and no transparency or public due diligence from yet more in camera sessions around an issue the mayor did not want publicly debated.”
aujla said all of the noise around the land swap agreement is misinformation.
“when people focus on just the minimal amount of land or just the arena, that’s not the big picture,” he said.
kuldeep bansal is the former owner of a property at 7580 152 st. in surrey.
arlen redekop
/
png
the city is also facing criticism over another recent land acquisition.
advertisement
kuldeep bansal said he was a part owner of a numbered company, 1341678 b.c. ltd., that owned a parcel of land at 7580 152 st., adjacent to surrey lake park and a golf course.
the site, which is just over five hectares, was recently bought by the city for $6.8 million for “recreational, park, and environmental purposes.”
bansal said his company owned the land for four years and it was on the market the entire time. in 2022, bansal said he bought the land for $6 million but decided to list it for $4.5 million.
“anyone could have bought it. the city of surrey never called. never made an offer. never showed a moment of interest. we could not find a buyer at that price, so we sold it for $3.35 million. and weeks later, our buyer turned around and sold it to city hall for $6.8 million,” bansal said.
“the city paid our buyer $3.5 million more than they would have paid us, for the exact same property, weeks apart. if surrey wanted this land, it was for sale to the whole world, including them, at $4.5 million. they could have saved taxpayers millions. instead, they waited until it was in a middleman’s hands, and paid him nearly double.”
the city of surrey said all claims made by bansal are inaccurate, that the city never engaged with him during the acquisition of the property and that he was not listed as the director of the company.
b.c. assessment and land title records show only two sales transactions for the property in the last five years: once in january 2022 when the numbered company purchased the property and once in june 2026 when the city of surrey acquired the property from the numbered company.
when asked to clarify, bansal sent postmedia records showing that he, along with two others, owned the numbered company and sold their shares in may. in selling their shares, the documents show that the three owners also sold the property at 7580 152 st., which was the only asset the company had. the company “exists solely” as a holding entity for the property, the documents read.
advertisement
the buyer of the company is listed as another numbered company, 1581502 b.c. ltd. but the owner of the land was still the original company, just with different operators. the land title only changed when the city bought the land in june.
the city’s corporate services department said the land purchase process included five months of “independent due diligence, market valuation, and review by multiple city departments,” before it was presented to council in may.
“the negotiated purchase price of $6.8 million was supported by an independent third-party appraisal prepared by colliers canada and was approximately $1 million below the appraised market value, representing strong value for taxpayers,” the department stated, adding that the city was first interested in the site late last year.
bansal is calling for transparency from the city.
coun. mandeep nagra has said a police investigation needs to be done.
the decision to purchase the land at 7580 152 st. was made in a closed council meeting, with nagra saying he won’t discuss what happened in it.
“after becoming aware of the full circumstances of how this transaction unfolded, i do not believe it can be brushed aside. something is not right here. and i am not willing to stay silent while taxpayers are out millions of dollars,” nagra said in a news release.
share story
