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A N V I L C E N T R E P r o m o t e d C o n t e n t 1970s. But several years into a downtown revitalization project, a new landmark now stands beside the Westminster Trust Building. The Anvil Centre is a new multi- use civic centre and office tower complex, which is set to open in September 2014. "It's the most important development in the city, maybe even in its history," says Mayor Wayne Wright. "From a business point of view we knew we needed this. It's the right size, the right place and it's got the transportation network to support it. This will really be the heart of the city." The Anvil Centre includes two components. The first is the civic facility, which will have conference and meeting rooms, a theatre, multi-purpose rooms and art studios, a civic art gallery, the city's Museum and Archives, the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Tourism New Westminster's visitor information desk and restaurant and retail space. The second component is a nine-storey, 137,000-square-foot office building. The entire project is targeted for LEED Gold, and will be an iconic structure covering an entire city block at the gateway to New Westminster's downtown. In 2010, the city finalized a new Downtown Community Plan, which envisioned the area as the economic, cultural, historic and residential hub of New Westminster. A host of condominium developments and new retailers have fashioned the area into a popular home for young families and first-time buyers, looking for the ambiance of Yaletown without the price tag. Although the response to the Anvil Centre has been extremely positive, with conference centre bookings a year ahead of schedule, the project had a bit of a rocky start. In 2008, the city received funding of about $60 million through a Development Assistance Compensation Agreement with the provincial government, BC Lottery Corporation and Gateway Casinos for providing a location for a casino in the Queensborough area. One of the earmarked purposes for the money was a civic centre in the downtown core—the city later decided to add an office tower. The project hit a major hurdle in 2011 when a developer pulled out of a tentative partnership. City council decided in April 2012 that it would build the tower itself. The $41.5-million cost for the civic component was covered by the casino funds, but the city passed a bylaw to borrow up to $59 million to build the office tower. Council faced a public backlash, and a 2,100-signature petition was filed against the decision. "The biggest challenge was getting people to understand what we were trying to do and how important the site was," recalls Mayor Wright. "We saw it as the true centre of the city and one of the mainstays of the Lower Mainland." In March 2014, commercial real estate agent Cushman & Wakefield sold the office tower for $36.5 million to a company owned by two well-known local business leaders: Joe Segal and Suki Sekhon. With total construction costs for the office tower shell at $30 million, the building is now complete and occupancy is expected to start in the fall of this year. The sale of the empty building was a tremendous vote of confidence. "We couldn't ask for better partners," Mayor Wright explains. "They were our No. 1 choice. They've got the vision to see what's going on down here and they were a step ahead of everybody else." According to Sekhon, they were impressed by the downtown revitalization, the quality of the building and the surrounding transportation network including five SkyTrain stations and the new Patullo Bridge. "If you look at the Lower Mainland, this is centre ice," says Sekhon. "It's 20 minutes from almost anywhere in the Lower Mainland, the North Shore and the Fraser Valley. The combination of affordable condominiums and single-family homes, and the attractive rental rates available at the Anvil Centre makes this a win-win situation for both employees and employers. This building meets a growing need in the marketplace for people who want to work and live in a vibrant, sustainable community." p162-167-Anvil Centre .indd 164 2014-05-29 3:47 PM