--- title: "Surrey council votes Monday on a $17.5M medicine school contract and a $4.7M Newton turf field" description: "Surrey City Council meets November 9 to award two contracts: $17.5 million for excavation of the SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine downtown, and $4.7 million for a synthetic turf field at Newton Athletic Park." canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/surrey-2026/news/surrey-council-november-9-contracts-medicine-school-newton-turf-2026" last_updated: "2026-11-07T04:22:10.189Z" --- Surrey City Council meets Monday, November 9, to vote on two contracts that will shape a downtown medical campus and a Newton sports park. One is a $17.5 million excavation contract for the first building of the SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine. The other is a $4.7 million contract for a new synthetic turf field at Newton Athletic Park. Both contracts come before council in the same meeting, three weeks after the new council took office on November 2. ## The medicine school contract Surrey city manager Rob Costanzo recommends in a corporate report coming before council that PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. be awarded $17,561,926.20 for excavation and shoring work for Phase One of Centre Block, the building that will house the new medical school downtown. The spending limit in the report is set at $19,318,118.82. The project is expected to be completed by August 2030, the North Delta Reporter reported on November 6. The Centre Block building will be shared between the City and SFU. Under the joint venture agreement, the school of medicine and a childcare facility will occupy levels two to eight. The City of Surrey will occupy levels nine to 11 and part of level 12. The ground floor will be shared by both. SFU will pay 70.24 per cent of the total cost and the City will pay 29.76 per cent, according to the corporate report. The school carries the Stephens name after the family of Ratana and Arran Stephens, co-founders of Nature's Path and principals of Que Pasa, donated $40 million to SFU in June 2026. The North Delta Reporter described this as the largest single donation in SFU's history. That gift supports research and innovation, student training and infrastructure. The SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine is based at SFU Surrey and focuses on primary care. Its website describes the school as preparing physicians who reflect the communities they serve. Its programs include undergraduate medical education, postgraduate training for community-oriented specialists, and continuing professional development for practicing physicians. The school's approach centres on communities in the Fraser Salish region and aims to train doctors who will work in primary care settings. Excavation and shoring is typically the first major construction step after site preparation. The phase one building will be a multi-storey structure housing both City office space and the medical school. The Centre Block location is in downtown Surrey, where SFU already operates its Surrey campus. ## The Newton turf field contract Surrey general manager of parks, recreation and culture Laurie Cavan recommends in a separate corporate report that Wilco Civil Inc. be awarded $4,717,441.05 to design and install a synthetic turf field at the southern end of Newton Athletic Park. The spending limit in the report is $5,189,185.16, according to the Surrey Now-Leader on November 6. Newton Athletic Park already has 11 full-size soccer fields, five of them synthetic turf. The new contract would add a sixth synthetic turf field, along with energy-efficient lighting around the walking track and new lighted tennis courts. The park serves a large number of recreational soccer players and community sports groups in Newton. The Newton work is part of a larger investment. In July 2026, then-mayor Brenda Locke and Surrey-Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal announced $27.5 million in improvements for Newton Athletic Park and nearby Unwin Park together. That announcement put $11 million from the federal government and $16.5 million from the City toward both parks. Unwin Park's share of that investment includes a covered multi-sport court, a new fieldhouse with washrooms and change rooms, a youth amenity zone, new pickleball, basketball and tennis courts, a pump and bike track, a new washroom at the north end, an off-leash area for dogs, more paths, more parking, and improved park entry points. The turf field contract is for Newton Athletic Park only. Contracts for the Unwin Park work may come to council separately. ## Who votes and when Both contracts go to a full council vote on Monday, November 9. Mayor [Doug McCallum](/bc/surrey-2026/candidates/doug-mccallum) chairs the council, which has eight elected councillors. A simple majority approves a contract award. The North Delta Reporter and Surrey Now-Leader each reported on November 6 that both contracts are on the November 9 agenda. Peace Arch News also carried both stories that day. Council meeting agendas and minutes are posted on the City of Surrey website before and after each meeting. The meeting is open to the public. ## What comes next If council approves the medicine school excavation contract, construction work at the Centre Block site in downtown Surrey would proceed toward its August 2030 completion date. The Centre Block building is Phase One of a development that will put the medical school and City offices in the same downtown building. If council approves the Newton turf contract, design and installation work at Newton Athletic Park would begin. The turf field is part of the $27.5 million Newton parks investment announced in July 2026, and its timing would depend on the contractor's schedule after council awards the contract. Residents can follow Mayor McCallum's commitments on the promise tracker at [/bc/surrey-2026/tracker](/bc/surrey-2026/tracker). Surrey City Council's decisions are published on the City of Surrey website after each meeting. ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/bc/surrey-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.