The school will sit in the city’s Centre Block development beside Surrey Central station, part of a push to make City Centre the region’s second downtown.
SURREY, B.C. — A new Simon Fraser University medical school, Stephens Family School of Medicine, is expected to become a cornerstone of downtown Surrey when its permanent home opens in 2030, anchoring a major redevelopment next to Surrey Central SkyTrain station.
The school will sit at the centre of Centre Block, a City of Surrey development on the former site of the North Surrey Recreation Centre, which was demolished in 2025. The site is adjacent to SFU’s Surrey campus and Surrey Central Station, making the multiuse hub easily accessible by transit.
What’s Going Into the Building
According to the city, the first phase of Centre Block is a 12-storey building with shops on the ground floor and office space above. The medical school will occupy levels two through eight, with city offices on levels nine through 12 and a public plaza beside the SkyTrain station. When fully built, Centre Block is expected to provide about two million square feet of office and institutional space, which the city says would double City Centre’s office and institutional space.
The medical school building will include high-tech classrooms, research spaces, administrative offices, an outpatient clinic and a 49-space child-care centre. The school is part of an effort to meet Canada’s growing need for family doctors, noting it will welcome a first class of future primary-care physicians.
Simon Fraser University
SFU’s medical school is B.C.’s second, after the University of British Columbia’s. In 2024, the province provided $34 million to help cover the cost of temporary space until the permanent building is ready. The province announced last October that 48 accepted students would begin in August 2026, with classes initially held at SFU Surrey’s campus on University Drive and 102 Avenue.
When the permanent location was announced, Surrey Coun. Linda Annis said the news was good for the city, but only if graduates decide to stay.
A Downtown Taking Shape
SFU already has a strong presence in Surrey’s city centre, with programs including the School of Interactive Arts and Technology, the School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering and the School for Sustainable Energy Engineering.
The city is also setting aside land for the expansion of Surrey Memorial Hospital and for a new UBC Surrey campus. Surrey, with more than half a million residents, is B.C.’s second-largest municipality.
