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Surrey’s piano man
Roy Hepworth’s landmark school has left a legacy of music in Newton, 17
City Centre
‘Striking’ landmark unveiled Amy Reid
deck where the daycare is that sticks out and it’s kind of like the Titanic,” mused CEO Don Coulter during a media tour Tuesday. “It does rom basketball hoops look like a cruise ship. A lot in the lunchroom of people say that.” to treadmills under Inside, the design aims desks, the new Coast Capital to increase Savings’ “Help collaboration, Headquarters” maximize is anything but efficiency, conventional. promote health, “By design we and yes, be “cool.” really wanted No one has an something office. Not even that’s different,” the CEO. Instead, said Chris open concept D’Silva, director Don Coulter floors encourage of facilities connections. management. Coulter said the company “Coast Capital is moved away from what is a different kind of organization and as a result, seen as a traditional head office in every way. we wanted something that’s “We have many of these fun, something that’s hip, small meeting rooms, something that’s youthful.” breakout rooms and Driving down King enclaves,” explained Coulter. George Boulevard, the vibrant, dynamic building is “Some have these funky, portal windows. almost impossible to miss. “It’s kind of fun. Our first The architecture bears value at Coast is we take our resemblance to the sleek business very seriously, but ship-like lines of the ourselves? Not so much.” award-winning City Centre Other highlights Library. include “collision zones” “When you look at the to stimulate interaction, front, there’s a big outside Now staff Twitter @amyreid87
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Coast Capital Savings’ “Help Headquarters” is Surrey’s newest landmark building. (Photo: TOM ZILLICH) adjustable desks enabling employees to stand while they work, a corporate “university” for training, wellness rooms such as quiet zones with nap pods and a gym featuring a yoga room. State-of-the-art boardrooms have voicetracking video conference cameras, and meeting pods, known as “Mediascape” include “technology pucks” enabling groups to share content on video screens. And the building is LEED Gold certified. Roughly 700 Coast Capital employees recently moved into the building next to King George SkyTrain, consolidating the company’s Central City tower offices with their previous headquarters next to Guildford Town Centre.
The company now takes up about 120,000 square feet of the roughly 185,000-square-foot-site. So why did Canada’s largest credit union by membership choose Surrey for its new headquarters? Well, Coast Capital’s story began in the city. Coulter explains. “Our roots are here, where one of our founding credit unions, Surrey Metro Savings, was established,” he revealed. “We like that.” But of course it wasn’t history alone. Surrey is the place to be, according to Coulter. “We see Surrey as an economic engine for the province, and Surrey Central as a head office hub of the future,” said Coulter. Being adjacent to King
George SkyTrain was a big draw, and knowing LRT is planned along the highway was another bonus. To make way for the new building, the landmark Surrey Inn was demolished. TAKE PHOTO TOUR AT THENOWNEWSPAPER.COM
The 81-room hotel, which had occupied 9850 King George Blvd. since 1974, was replaced by the 10-storey building, which Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner described as “striking.” “I’m thrilled they have the sense of architecture that building brings to the city,” said Hepner. “I’m over the moon that I can refer to now, the City Centre, as the financial district of Surrey given that both Coast
Capital and Westminster Savings are in the core of the city now. “It goes along with the regional growth and certainly the most recent story around the kinds of growth we’re experiencing in residential also flows over into commercial and industrial so we can balance that out with jobs. “It nicely rounds out the package,” she added. Yet to come as part of the site’s redevelopment, called “the HUB,” is 345,000 square feet of retail space and more than a million square feet of condominiums. When completed, the development hopes to be “the crossroads of the new downtown Surrey.” amy.reid@thenow newspaper.com
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