City of Surrey tackles \u2018inaccurate claims\u2019 about property acquistions<\/p>\n
Published 4:20 pm Thursday, July 9, 2026<\/p>\n
Surrey city hall\u2019s property acquisitions process has come under a microscope in the wake of accusations related to a \u201cquestionable\u201d real estate transaction, a \u201cbail out\u201d for a land developer, a call for a judicial review, and a councillor calling for a full-on police investigation.<\/p>\n
In response, the City of Surrey\u2019s communications department issued a press release July 9 including a summary of property acquistions<\/a> from June 2025 to July 2026 that indicates city hall had achieved a \u201ctotal cost avoidance\u201d of $23,016,269 through 12 real estate deals.<\/p>\n The aim, the press release states, is to \u201censure Surrey residents have accurate information about how municipal land purchases are evaluated, negotiated and approved.\u201d<\/p>\n It says the City of Surrey avoided the $23,016,269 in higher land acquistion costs \u201cthrough independent appraisals, market analysis and negotiations\u201d with the process reviewed by multiple city hall departments \u2013 including environmental, engineering, legal and financial teams \u2013 and council\u2019s approval secured prior to completion.<\/p>\n City hall\u2019s crap blizzard began June 30 <\/a>following the public reveal of a land swap involving three taxpayer-owned parcels of land for a site in Whalley to build a 10,000-seat arena. Former mayor and Safe Surrey Coalition mayoral candidate Doug McCallum accused Mayor Brenda Locke of \u201cbailing out\u201d the developer with Surrey rate payers taking a hit. \u201cLand in City Centre currently trades at $8 to $10 million an acre,\u201d McCallum noted. \u201cBrenda Locke paid $23.3 million.\u201d Locke denied any \u201cbail out.\u201d<\/p>\n Councillor Linda Annis, mayoral candidate for Surrey First, jumped into the fray, charging that taxpayers \u201cgot the short end of the stick and ended up paying $28 million more than the assessed value of the arena site.\u201d<\/p>\n Then Imagine Surrey mayoral candidate Mike Starchuk joined in<\/a>, announcing on July 6 he will file a petition in B.C. Supreme Court seeking a full judicial review of Locke\u2019s \u201ccostly, unprecedented land-swap purchase to enable a downtown arena.\u201d<\/p>\n