This summer, South Britannia Surf (formerly Tiger Bay) broke ground, beginning its environmental site works after almost six years of planning.
In July this year WavePoolMag reported that the project had submitted its final development application for the seven-acre Wavegarden wave pool that will feature a dissipative shoreline and a 2,800-square-metre Hub building.
The crew behind the project posted hardhat images to celebrate this landmark moment in Canadian surf parks. Currently, the only other wave pool is the non-surf-specific Edmonton Mall facility.
“A monumental day for the project as our team gathered on site with our general contractor, Jacob Brothers Construction, to officially begin works,” South Britannia said in a social media post. “To clarify the scope, we have initiated the environmental site works-an essential first phase that lays the groundwork for upcoming site preparation and earthworks for the surf park.”
The South Britannia development on the Sea-to-Sky corridor between Vancouver and Whistler will be similar in scale to URBNSURF Melbourne.
The surf park will be open to the public and form the centerpiece of the first phase of development. Plans include a surf center, cabins, skatepark, pump track, and mountain bike trails.
The larger South Britannia development calls for 1,050 homes, including 150 affordable housing units, along with tourist accommodations, commercial space and community facilities.
The project is being developed on a former gravel quarry. Its approval process stretched for nearly six years and involved housing, highway access, railway, water, engineering and debris-flow considerations.
The project has been in development since at least 2019, when it was promoted as Tiger Bay.
Timeline so far:
2019: Tiger Bay announced
2022: first major planning hurdle
2024: master plan approved
2026: ground/site work begins
2029: current projected surf-park opening
