Cloverdale Canada Day Party July 1, 2013

The City of Surrey and Cloverdale host Canada Day celebrations at the Millennium Park on the corner of 176th Street and 64th Avenue. It's a free event from 10am to about 10:30pm or whenever the fireworks end. There will be entertainers and singers all day, amusement park rides, about 50 exhibitors/vendors, and food concessions.

The headline act, musical group Platinum Blonde, will take to the stage at 9pm, the last act of the night. When they're done the fireworks show starts.

For more information about the Canada Day celebrations, check their website http://www.surrey.ca/canadaday/default.aspx

Now on to the stuff people really want to know about - where to park and how to get around Cloverdale, or this busy intersection, especially once the fireworks have ended!

Free parking at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. Enter off 60th Avenue at 177B Street. They open up the racetrack for cars to park there. Limited parking next door at Greenaway Park, about 20 spots, but by this time its a fair hike to get to the Millennium Park.

Don't think about parking at the old Cloverdale Mall on the corner of the Cloverdale Bypass between 57th and 58th Avenues. They're building there, or will be. So far only ground work done. There's a big fence around the property. Off 58th Avenue there's about 30 parking lots in 2 different areas that aren't fenced off.

Most people find parking spots on the streets, usually in the subdivision between 60th and 64th Avenues, and 168th and 176th Streets. In other words the area directly across the street and west of the Cloverdale Fairgrounds and Millennium Park.

The parking lot at Lord Tweedsmuir High School, on 180th Street, just north of 60th Avenue, is open and there are lots of places to park here. Mostly people park here in the evening to catch the fireworks show. The school's football field on the hill overlooking the park and fairgrounds, is prime viewing for the fireworks.

Whatever you do, do not park in the Cloverdale Crossing Mall, on the other side of the street from the Millennium Park on 60th Avenue. They have signs up saying no event parking and security guards on duty. They are watching people who park and if they leave the property they call in tow trucks. Don't take a chance.

Getting out of Cloverdale is a bit of a nightmare. Likewise for traffic who have no intention of taking part in Canada Day festivities and are just in the unfortunate position of driving along 176th Street after 10pm. Last year the police shut down 176th Street and/or the Cloverdale Bypass (depends which part of the road you're on what its called) between Highway 10 (56th Avenue) and 64th Avenue. Likewise they shut down 57th Avenue, 58th Avenue, and 60th Avenue for any traffic planning to drive down one of those streets and turn onto the Cloverdale Bypass or 176th Street. That was a smart move because two years ago they only shut it down at 58th Avenue and traffic ended up in subdivision hell, going in circles, and ending up at a police blockade and going back the way they came from.

The streets are shut down because 100,000 people are leaving Millennium Park and pedestrians are all over the road. Safety issues.

So don't try to do anything smart driving around the subdivisions west of 176th Street thinking you'll beat the crowds of traffic and get out of Cloverdale faster. 20,000 other drivers are thinking the same thing. There are cul-de-sacs, dead ends, and streets that curve and wind in these subdivisions, and don't get you where you want to go.

My best suggestion is wherever you are head east like you're going to Langley and get yourself at least to 184th Street and away from the mass bedlam of tens of thousands of drivers. From 184th you can turn north and get yourself to the Fraser Highway which will get you back to 176th Street, or a better plan is to drive south. Highway 10 won't be too bad an option, but if you're going to South Surrey or planning to catch Highway 99, drive down 184th Street to 32nd Avenue and from there turn west. People aren't thinking of taking the scenic route and going up to 184th, but its only 8 blocks or so out of the way. Going a couple of kilometres out of your way and getting out of Cloverdale instead of trying to stick within a couple of blocks of Cloverdale and snake through car-jammed streets of the subdivisions where everyone is looking for a fast way out, will get you home faster.

Now what about traffic that just happens to be on 176th Street at that time of night and are surprised by the roads shut down. If you are driving north on 176th, which is really the Cloverdale Bypass at that section, at Highway 10/56th Avenue the road will be blocked by the police. Turn left and drive to 168th Street. Don't be tempted to turn down 60th or 64th Avenue. Bad choice. The police are waiting and will turn you back where you came from. Try to stay on 168th as long as you can. If you're heading for Highway 1, I'd recommend staying on 168th until at least 80th Avenue or 88th Avenue and then turning right to get back to 176th Street.

Or when you hit Highway 10, you can turn right and go up to 184th Street. Turn left and follow 184th to either the Fraser Highway or stay on it a little longer until it dead ends at 80th Avenue, then turn left and make your way back to 176th Street.

Hope my information helps! Stay safe. Pack your patience if you stay at the Millennium Park until the fireworks end. It takes a long time to move all that traffic out of the Cloverdale area.

Free Hot Tub dumped in old Cloverdale Mall lot

This is something you don't see everyday. Someone has dumped an old hot tub in the parking lot of the old Cloverdale Mall, near the corner of 58th Avenue and the Cloverdale Bypass.

They put a "free" sign on it.

I think the sign should read: come haul my junk away for me for free.

It wasn't there this morning so somebody dropped it off during daylight hours. On a busy highway like the Cloverdale Bypass section of 176th Street? And nobody saw?

Ironically enough a junk disposal truck has been parking in this spot over the past few weeks drumming up some free advertising. Perhaps they'll do a good deed and haul it away.

Parking around Cloverdale for Parade and Rodeo

Here's the scoop on parking around Cloverdale during the rodeo weekend May 17 - 20, 2013.

The big news is the huge parking lot at the former Cloverdale Mall is no more. The area has been fenced in for construction. There are about 100 parking spots in the area surrounding the Cloverdale Legion, the last of the old Cloverdale Mall parking lot. However the Legion is holding pancake breakfasts and barbecues all weekend and won't be too impressed if people park there and aren't coming inside to eat.

The first suggestion is to pay $10 and park at the Cloverdale fairgrounds. That gives you a close walk to the fair and the rodeo.

Also try Greenaway Park next to the fairgrounds on 60th Avenue and park there for free. The gates are locked at dusk so get back to your car by then or look for another way home.

Another is to park on residential streets around Cloverdale. That'll be a longer walk but parking is free. Keep an eye on the parking signs. Downtown Cloverdale is a maximum of 2 hours and there are a few no parking areas around town. The parking bylaw officers are in full force in Cloverdale this weekend. Huge payday for them because people park where they shouldn't be. The most popular parking spots are everything in-between 176A Street and 180th Street and 56A Avenue to 59th Avenue.

Cloverdale has a few free public parking lots. One is located on 56A Avenue just west of 176th Street, in the alley behind the firehall. There's about 60 parking spots here. On 176A Street just north of 57th Avenue, behind the Clova and next to the Bank of Montreal is a large parking lot. A couple hundred spots available here. A little further down 176A Street on the corner of 58A Avenue is another parking lot with about 100 or so parking spots.

There are a few spots available in the old Cloverdale Mall parking lot just off 58th Avenue, closer to the Cloverdale Bypass. Enter off 58th and there are about 15 parking spots here. A little further up, enter from the alley behind the Cloverdale Supermarket is about 30 more parking spots. Get here by 8am on Saturday May 18th if you're planning to watch the parade. Unless its raining, all the parking spots close to 176th Street go early.

On Saturday morning the streets between 176A Street and 177B Street 56A Avenue to 58A Avenue  are temporarily closed from 6am to noon for the parade participants to set up. After noon they are up for grabs the rest of the weekend. 176th Street is closed during these times because of the parade route. Tow trucks are standing near by and I always see a couple of cars being towed off this street. Not a good idea to park here the rest of the weekend anyway because its 2 hour parking.

There is a lot of street parking in residential areas west of 176th Street between 60th and 64th Avenues. The problem with this subdivision is if you're not familiar with it, it twists and turns and cul-de-sac's all over the place.

Some residents offer parking in their driveways and front lawns for a few bucks and some of the local churches also sell parking spots.

I checked with the rodeo's general manager to see if the motorbikes are getting free parking this year and the answer is no.

Don't even think about parking in the Clover Crossing Mall on 64th Avenue and 176th Street. They have security guards watching all weekend. If you park and walk off the premises they'll call a tow truck. They watch real closely to make sure everyone who parks a car goes into one of the businesses there.

January Update on old Cloverdale Mall Site

A few weeks ago a chain link fence was put around the entire site of the old Cloverdale Mall, including most of the parking lot. Previously the parking lot was accessible and truckers and campers often parked overnight there. There are about a dozen parking spots available that can be accessed from 58th Avenue. Also if you drive down the alley behind the Cloverdale Super Market (old Shop Easy), that parking lot was never fenced in, and there's room for about 20 cars to park there.

That flat deck trailer that was in the parking lot when it got fenced in is no longer there. I didn't see it leave. I don't know if the trucker it belonged to returned for it or if the construction crew called a tow truck.

There is heavy machinery over there and a crew on site. They unlock the gate and park their cars in there and there is a sign stating authorized personnel only and the work saftety gear that must be worn.

So far not to much is going on that I can see. Digging and piles of dirt. Due to the recent dreary weather I haven't walked by but I took the dogs for a walk this morning to check it out. I only had my cell phone camera on me and the picture's not the greatest and blogger has changed how to upload pictures so until I figure that out..... In other words - no picture today.

No word yet when this phase of construction is planned to be complete.

Fence Around Parking Lot at Former Cloverdale Mall

Sometime on Friday December 7, 2012 a rent a fence company has put up a fence around the entire parking lot of the former Cloverdale Mall. Previously the fence was only around the site of the former mall, but its around the entire lot now, excluding the area surrounding the Cloverdale Legion.

This is bad news for people looking for a parking spot during Cloverdale events. This is also bad news for people who regularly parked there, mainly semi truck drivers resting overnight and the occasional camper.

This is really bad news for whoever owns that semi flat deck trailer in the centre of the parking lot! Its my guess that when that trucker returns for the trailer they will knock the fence down to gain access. If anyone has seen the movie Joy Ride they'll know that nothing really stops a semi truck wherever the driver wants to take it!

Santa Parade of Lights on Sunday December 2, 2012

The Christmas lights are starting to go up around Cloverdale and you know what that means. The Santa Parade is almost here!

 

The Santa Parade of Lights is on Sunday, December 2, 2012 and starts around 5pm out of the Cloverdale Fairgrounds on 60^th Avenue. The parade will go down 176A Street, turn west on 58A Avenue and then along 176^thStreet. It sort of peters out at 57^th Avenue and the trucks and floats head onto the Cloverdale Bypass and they’re gone. Probably back to the staging area at the fairgrounds for take down.

Here’s the scoop on parking. Get to Cloverdale no later than 4:30 on Sunday afternoon. Streets are being closed and you will end up in a traffic nightmare trying to find a way out and a place to park. The old (demolished) Cloverdale Mall site still has plenty of parking. Access the parking lot from 57^th Avenue off the Cloverdale Bypass. You can also try to access it off the Cloverdale Bypass at 58^th Avenue but no telling when the volunteers will shut down 58^th. There is on street parking on 56A Avenue, 57^th Avenue, and 58^th Avenue east of 176A Street. There is on street parking on 177B Street. There are 2 public parking lots on 176A Street – one near 58A Avenue, the other at the backside of the Clova Theatre, between 57^th and 58^th Avenues next to the Bank of Montreal.

For viewing, the best place if you want to see Santa Claus light up the Christmas tree on top of the Dale Building is around Hawthorne Square on 176^th Street, midway between 57^th and 58^thAvenues. 176^th Street is crowded with the most spectators. I like to watch the parade on 58A Avenue where its less crowded. At least until the people searching for a spot on 176^th Street discover its got lots of openings, and then it gets jammed. If there are too many people, head north along 176A Street to find a good viewing spot.

Bring a non-perishable item. Volunteers from the food bank will be picking up donations.

 

Cloverdale Mall Development

Development signs have popped up on both sides of the former Cloverdale Mall on 58th and 57th Avenues.

I saw them on Thursday and I thought that was a little odd. You'd think they'd have had all this approved prior to tearing down the old mall!

The signs say retail space and living accomodations for 102 units. The thing that surprised me was this is to be a 5 story building. For some reason I thought it was only going to be 3 stories, same height as other apartments and condos in Cloverdale.

I guess the thing with having a 5 story building approved is that soon other tall building will follow suit. The same thing happened in White Rock. They only allowed 3 story buildings and about 10 or 15 years ago a tower was built and now there are several condo towers around White Rock.

But where could 5 story condos follow this new one in Cloverdale? East of the Cloverdale Bypass, 176th Street have seen several condos built in the past 5 or 7 years. I don't think there are any old houses left on that side that could be torn down to make way for condo development. Well, there are a couple of older shabby apartment buildings on 176A and 177B Street that could very well be torn down to build new taller condos.

But nope I think the next targeted area for new construction will be the west side of the Cloverdale Bypass. Already on the northwest corner of the Bypass and Highway 10 construction crews are preparing the ground for a new mall to be built there. Not an indoor covered mall that seems to be bad luck in Cloverdale. It looks like something similar to the malls in Panorama or Clover Crossings. Between Highway 10 and 60th Avenue west to 172 Street are several streets full of houses built after World War 2 and through the 60's. Sure a couple of houses are newer than that and on the other side of 172 Street is the area we call Cowtown because all the streets are named after cow breeds. They sprung up in the late 70's early 80's if memory serves me.

But if you take a look at the houses in the quadrant between the Bypass and 172 Street and Highway 10 and 60th Avenue many houses are one story bungalows. Most of them are in very nice condition and the house and yards are neat and tidy. Its a nice quiet neighborhood built in the days when people actually had decent sized front and back yards. On the flip side some of them are very obviously rented out. A realtor friend of mine told me the houses on the south side of 58th Avenue between 175 and 173 Streets are owned by developers. Well, there's one bungalow I think the owner lives in because it is well looked after. On the other side of the street everyone in the houses are renters, whether the properties are owned by developers or not I don't know.

I think this will probably be the next area targeted for a high density condo development once the site of the old Cloverdale Mall is underway. Oddly enough there is one new house smack dab in the middle of all these old houses that are rented out and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Its up for sale. $799,000. Probably at least $400,000 more than the surrounding houses. And what do you get for this price? 9 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. Its a 2 story house. They had it up for sale a couple of years ago for $850,000 and it said it had 2 suites in the basement. I think that's one suite more than the City of Surrey allows. Also the house didn't pass final inspection because its water main has not been cut down to ground level. You know when you build a big honking house like that in an area full of run down smaller homes you better be sure you're building something you like and plan to live in for a very long time.

Anyway I think that builder just screwed up all the other home owners on that side of the street who rent their houses out and are hoping for the area to be developed.

I think if we come back in 10 years that section west of the Cloverdale Bypass will be full of new condos that are at least 5 stories high.

Fence up Again at old Cloverdale Mall

Yesterday when I was walking past the old Cloverdale Mall I noticed they were putting up fence again near the Cloverdale Legion but I wasn't sure what was being fenced in.

Today I walked past and the site of the old Cloverdale Mall has been fenced in again.

I'm not sure if that is to prevent Cloverdale Rodeo guests from parking all over the place or if it is to prevent partiers from congregating there over the long weekend.

For all I know the fence could be up for good until the construction is complete.

There are still places to park at the old mall for people coming out to watch the parade. My advice if you want one of the few coveted parking spots - arrive early!

Fence Coming Down at old Cloverdale Mall

Today there is a crew dismantling the temporary fencing that was around the old Cloverdale Mall while they were doing the demolition. The lot is now full of crushed concrete and debris that has been graded into a fairly flat surface. Makes a good fill. I'm not sure what they start doing next.

In the past this parking lot has been used primarily by visitors to the rodeo during the May long weekend. With the fence up there is maybe 10 parking spots if one enters off 58th Avenue near the Cloverdale Bypass. There is more parking around the Cloverdale Legion off 57th Avenue but there are cements barricades up not allowing anyone to drive past them. However with the fence coming down that opens up many more parking spots along the west side of the former mall closests to the Cloverdale Bypass, able to access from either 57th or 58th depending on where the rodeo volunteers are setting up barricades that morning. Usually vehicle traffic is not allowed to turn onto 58th Avenue off the bypass.

Also there would be lots of parking spaces available on the crushed concrete site of the old mall. However I think only someone driving a beat up pick up truck might attempt that!

Crunching up the concrete at old Cloverdale mall

Its a little dark but here's a photo of the site of the old Cloverdale Mall I took with my iPhone. These two machines are crunching up the pavement and cement. There is a bulldozer pushing the ground up concrete around and flattening out the site. I guess they're recycling it as filler for the new buildings they'll be putting up here. Photo was taken from the parking lot of the legion on 57th Ave. The United Church can be seen in the centre. You can click on the photo to get a better view that's a little less dark.

Photos of Cloverdale Mall Demolition as of March 1 2011

I took a few photos of the Cloverdale Mall destruction today - March 1 2011. There is only a small section of the building left standing. It used to be a Chinese restaurant called the 4 Seasons, then it was a fish and chips place, and then a cheap cuts hair salon, back in the days of $6 haircuts! The Bank of Nova Scotia and Shopper's Drug Mart were on the other side, so that's the section that's still standing. You can click on any of these photos to get a larger view.



This photo was taken on 58th Avenue. In its final years this section was home to some religious groups. The building here is flattened. This is the roof collapsed onto the building. The roof vents are very visible.

Photo taken from Hawthorne Square on 176th Street. Used to be you could look up this walkway and the east entrance of the Cloverdale Mall was right here.

Photo taken from the parking lot of the Cloverdale Legion off 57th Avenue entrance. You can see the United Church again for the first time since the early 70's!

Cruncher at work.

Cloverdale Mall demolition Feb 21 2011

I took some photos of the demolition at the old Cloverdale Mall. Sorry for the quality - only had my iPhone with me. You can click on the photo for a larger view.

The old Safeway is completely gone and if anyone remembers where the BC Liquor Store used to be beside it, that's gone too, and the bakery that used to be next to it by the side entrance from the 57th Avenue side.

If you stand on 57th side you can see daylight right through to the other end of the mall. One of the photos where I was near the temporary fence, the old ramp for the Safeway trucks is still there, just an indentation in the parking lot now.

Demolition at Cloverdale Mall February 10 2010

There's been a track hoe or maybe it has another name - heavy equipment machine - chewing away at the Cloverdale Mall on the Cloverdale Bypass between 58th and 57th Avenues.

The old Safeway building is half gone and there is a growing pile of lumber and debris in the parking lot.

The building is open to the elements and I believe rain is in the forecast.

There is a fence around the mall and part of the parking lot and a security company is there in the evening keeping an eye on things.

Cloverdale Mall Getting Ready for Demolition

A couple of days ago a security fence appeared around the Cloverdale Mall's parking lot. One can no longer enter from 58th Avenue. There is a small parking lot area off the 57th Avenue entrance, presumably parking for the demolition crew.

The parking lot around the Cloverdale Legion has no changes.

I noticed a security guard in a car near the 58th entrance last night.

The parking lot where the church patrons parked on the alley on the northeast corner of the mall is also fenced in. Today there were several cars parked there and the door to one of the churches was open. I guess today or this weekend is final clean up day for them and the fence was moved so the cars could get inside to pack up.

The name of the demolition company is on the side of the fence but I don't remember its name. I'm assuming the fence is up so random people can't just come in and scavenge. There is already a pile of metal stacking up near the 57th Avenue entrance. That may be a result of some of the clean up inside the mall. Aside from some pre-demolition work I noticed rooftop on the mall in December there is no signs of major demolition starting yet.

In about a year's time construction is to begin on the site and will be a combination of commercial and residential units above.

I hope the new building fares better than the old one. I remember the original Cloverdale Mall being built in 1973 on the old baseball fields. Almost from the beginning it was leaky. And after 20 years most of the tenants had had enough and were moving to new locations. They're tearing down a building that isn't quite 40 years old.

Bins finally removed

Further to those charitable bins sitting in the northwest corner of the Cloverdale Mall parking lot, we noticed one of them was gone a couple of weeks ago. That didn't stop the trash from piling up. Then a week ago we noticed the other clothing bin was gone, leaving only the books for charity bin. Two days ago that was gone.

Hopefully with those bins gone the people dropping off their trash will stop showing up at night to drop off their junk. I mean these are clothing bins with a small drawer to drop them in. What are you people doing dropping off chairs and couches? They don't fit in the bin. They sit out in the rain and get even more destroyed.

Haul my junk away for free.

Demolition begins on Cloverdale Mall

For the past couple of weeks I've seen an excavator parked in the lot near the old Cloverdale Mall but it hasn't moved.

Today I saw several people on the roof of the old beginning demolition. It appeared they were taking out the windows in the upper areas so I'm guessing they are trying to salvage what they can for resale. Surrey New & Used has a lot of pre-used construction materials.

Oddly enough there is still at least one tenant in the old mall, a religious group whose entry is in the alley behind the parking lot for the Cloverdale SuperMarket.

There also seems to be a very high number of sea gulls and crows around the old mall today too. Not sure if the demolition crews have unearthed some tasty treats for them or if something else is going on.

I really hope with the demolition of the mall that those charitable foundations with bins set up for clothes and books remove them soon. They've become a nuisance as a dumping ground. Two couches and an old freezer are there right now.

Clothing bins at old Cloverdale Mall

On the northwest corner parking lot of the old Cloverdale Mall - on 58A Avenue just before it bends to become 58th Avenue - there are several donation bins. Mostly accepting clothing and one is for books.

One of the clothing bins either isn't locked or the lock can be easily broken into because we often see people rooting through the clothes in the bin looking for something to wear.

Most of these look like homeless people, likely living in the tent city just south of the Clydesdale Inn, though there are other bush areas around Cloverdale that look like homeless people have set up living quarters.

With the recent bout of snow and rain there are a bunch of soggy clothes dragged out of one of the bins and scattered around. I saw quite a few people there on Sunday November 28 when I went past. The clothes are wet and nasty now but I guess that doesn't matter if you need them. They'll eventually dry out.

This post is kind of a heads up to well meaning citizens who bring clean clothes to the donation bins thinking they're going to a charity but instead they're scattered around the parking lot left out in the elements. I'm not sure how often the charities that own the bins show up to pick them up but apparently not all that frequently. Your best bet is to take clothes directly to the charity of your choice or phone them because many offer pick up service.

Cloverdale Mall demolition upon us soon?

A couple of nights ago we were walking down 176th Street and saw someone moving into an empty building across from the Clova Theatre. That building was originally home to the Red Barn Antiques. I remember a shoe repair shop being there for quite some time before the owner tragically died about 10 years ago. Since then a video rental place and more recently a healing place.

We asked the fellow what his business is and he is from Peter Pook Insurance from the Cloverdale Mall. They were in a kiosk in the centre of the mall for a long time and then a few years ago moved into the frontage that was originally home to Shopper's Drug Mart.

He said they have to be out by the end of October because they're going to start demolition within the next couple of months.

When we walked past the mall we saw a huge moving truck at the south entrance so perhaps that furniture place that has taken up most of the interior atrium part of the mall is on the move.

But for the most part the tenants still appear to be in place today. The antique place in the old Safeway slot has cars in the nearby parking lot. A couple of religious groups still have all their things in place. So perhaps there has been an extension to some of the tenants.

I'll keep an eye on things on my walks past there.

The Unknown Mall

The Cloverdale Mall is not the only covered mall that our small town has seen. Back in 1980 a new mall opened on the south side of Highway 10, inbetween 177B Street and 176th Street, approximately where the stores of Clover Village Square currently are situated. Unfortunately I do not remember the name of this mall.

The Co-op grocery store and Boot’s drugstore anchored the east end of the mall. Unfortunately after several year’s absence from Cloverdale, and a bevy of addle-brained cashiers, the Co-op’s grocery store was unable to make a go of it. By this time most of Cloverdale had decided not to shop at the leaky Safeway and had found new grocery stores in Langley including the newly opened mega grocery store, Save-On Foods on the Fraser Highway.

The Boot’s drug store chain is popular in England and had big hopes of bringing in an ex-patriot crew to shop at the franchise in Cloverdale. Instead their high prices kept most Cloverdale patrons going to Shopper’s Drug Mart in the Cloverdale Mall, or Kuss’s Pharmacy on the main street. I don’t remember what came first, the Cloverdale Boot’s closing down, or the drugstore’s nationwide closure.

On the west side of the mall was Surrey Credit Union and a restaurant called Hale & Hearty’s. Inside the mall were the usual assortment of clothing and record stores.

Right from the beginning the mall never had many customers. The stores had more employees than there were customers shopping there. I remember hanging out a friend’s house one Friday night and her parents went out to check out the new mall. They returned a short time later and said there were six people shopping in the mall that night.

A friend of mine worked at Surrey Credit Union and she said that patrons of the Co-op were all given $5 vouchers as part of a promotion. The catch was they had to come down to Surrey Credit Union to cash it in and get their five bucks. The object was to get people walking through the mall and shopping. All to no avail.

Within a year many of the stores had closed down. By the mid-80’s a couple of stores inside the mall were still open. My doctor’s office was inside that mall for a period of time until she moved to a new clinic a block away in the late 80’s. Surrey Credit Union became Surrey Metro Savings and remained open. Also not closing down was Hale & Hearty’s restaurant which had pretty decent food for a good price and was a favorite hang out for the race track crowd, but was closed when I returned in 1992 with a friend to go for dinner. L

One credit union can not be financially feasible for the mall owners who had lots of empty retail space including 2 rather large locations, the former Co-op grocery store and Boot’s locations. By the mid-90’s the mall was demolished and eventually the Clover Square Village and their stores came into being.

So about 15 years for this mall. The Cloverdale Mall is still standing 35 years after it opened and is still the winner. And I use that term in the loosest sense because a mall that does not have any stores inside for shopping is not a mall. In my opinion.

Maybe Cloverdale was just not meant to have indoor shopping malls. The outside strip malls seem to be more to the liking of this community.

The Cloverdale Mall

When I was a kid there used to be a big park and ball field pretty much in downtown Cloverdale for sports events like baseball games. The fire department was across the street and on Halloween the department put on fireworks shows. All this ended in the early 1970’s when the Cloverdale Mall was built on the field.

In accompaniment with building the Cloverdale Mall, the Cloverdale Bypass was built, allowing through 176th Street traffic a short detour to avoid driving through downtown Cloverdale. So the mall sits approximately between 58th and 57th Avenues and 176th Street and the Bypass.

If memory serves me correctly the Cloverdale Mall opened in 1973 or perhaps early 1974. This was a big thing for Cloverdale having several shops in one covered area. Safeway was the token grocery store and other establishments inside the mall included Shopper’s Drug Mart, the Bank of Nova Scotia, the government liquor store, the Mixer Shack, the Four Seasons (Chinese Restaurant), a bakery, a record store, Saan, a fast food fried chicken place who’s name escapes me (not KFC), and a coffee shop where you ordered at the window and took your drinks and snacks to one of the benches or tables throughout the mall. I’m sure there were other stores in there, but these were the main stores when the mall first opened. I was going to Cloverdale Junior High at the time and I was in the band and several times we performed inside the mall. There would be other musical groups occasionally performing there during the first few years the mall was open.

Almost immediately after opening the Cloverdale Mall was plagued with problems, notably a leaky roof. Every rainy day I came to the mall there would be buckets placed around catching the water. Safeway was a disgusting place to shop. It was a small store and staff were kept busy mopping up the water and placing out buckets to catch the rain water that constantly dripped inside. The store always appeared dirty no matter how diligently the staff tried to keep on top of the leaky roof.

The mall just wasn’t that popular and by 1980 was pretty much a ghost town with Cloverdale shoppers heading to the recently revamped Guildford Mall or the newly opened Willowbrook Mall. The school bands and other independent acts no longer performed inside the mall.

The liquor store kept the customers coming into the mall. But after a few years the liquor store relocated to its current location on 176th Street near the Number 10 Highway and that was the beginning of Cloverdale Mall’s slow death. Shopper’s Drug Mart and the Scotiabank relocated to other areas of Cloverdale, the Safeway closed down, and one by one the remaining stores shut down and the mall’s owners were unable to find new retailers to lease to. By the late 1990’s the mall had a handful of retailers and several churches leasing space. But now the retailers have all gone and the churches and religious groups are still leasing former retail space.

The City of Surrey owns the land and has been trying to sell it. Developers with a vision of mixed residential and commercial have been invited to put in a bid. It was announced earlier this year that the property had been sold, but last week the City of Surrey amended that to say the buyer had backed out due to financing and the mall is officially up for sale again.

No matter who buys this property and what is eventually built on there, I doubt the vision is going to match the reality. In hindsight perhaps the property would have been better left in its original form as a park where kids came out to play baseball and on Halloween we all enjoyed the fireworks.