Picture a beautiful building: architecturally pristine with perfectly placed orange bricks and glass windows so bright, they bring colour to your eyes just by admiring them.
Now, imagine that same building sitting empty and alone.
No people walk through the large, welcoming doors. There’s plenty of room for activities, yet the only guests are moss and possibly a family of rodents.
And instead of being noted as a stunning building that is being used for fun of all sorts, the building takes on other descriptions:
Eery, dark and abandoned.
This mysterious building actually exists. Just take a stroll down 104th avenue in Surrey and you’ll see the vacant dwelling, cobwebs and all.
What’s the strangest part about the 104th Avenue Centre? It’s been vacant ever since it was built.
Since 1998, just after building completion, the centre has never had a purpose. Aside from a few special events and film work, there have been no long-term tenants.
According to The Now, originally known as “The Asian Centre”, the building was bought by a lawyer from Arizona, Donald Pitt, who renovated 104th Avenue Centre to what it is today.
Since Pitt bought the building back in the 2000s, he has desired a single tenant for it.
The RCMP, Fraser Health and SFU have inquired about renting the centre, but the deals always fell through.
Finally, after nearly 20 years of vacancy, the building may just have tenants to call its own.
Members of Relate Church have big plans for the centre: they want to create a City Dream Centre that will help house Surrey’s underprivileged while also providing them with food and clothing, job skills and even health care.
The executive director of City Dream Centre, Loretta Hibbs, thinks 104th Avenue Centre is a perfect match for what the church group wishes to accomplish – funding is the only hurdle in the way.
But the church members are optimistic that finances will come together to possibly fill the building with hope and dreams, rather than an empty future.
It’s uncertain if 104th Avenue Centre will ever find its forever tenants. If this deal falls through, it may never find a family to call it home.
The building isn’t getting any younger, after all.
