Simon Fraser University is working through “internal processes” to create an agritech research “frontier hub” on roughly 10 acres at the southernmost property adjacent to Surrey’s Mound Farm with the expectation it will be well underway by next year.
Councillor Harry Bains, chairman of Surrey’s Investment, Innovation and Business Committee said this involves a field but not the Mound per se. “It’s not the entire property.”
The Mound Farm is that familiar bump in Cloverdale – a drumlin with old-growth trees, just south of Highway 10. The Mound itself is about 30 acres and in 1996 was preserved in perpetuity, through a public referendum. The long-term master plan for the site will see the lowlands reserved for agriculture.
Two wood-frame houses atop the drumlin can be found on the Canadian Registry of Historic Places. Early Surrey farming pioneers William and Anne Smith settled on the Mound in 1884.
Nearly six months ago, the City of Surrey and Simon Fraser University signed an agreement (memorandum of understanding) on November 21 to create a “frontier hub,” which was described at the time as a “new centre” for agritech research and technology development.
The City of Surrey issued a press release in November indicating the initiative “will help farmers explore and adopt new technologies and develop more efficient, sustainable, and resilient farming practices” as well as support “economic diversification, food security, and long-term industry competitiveness” and provide “a space where agritech innovations can be tested, demonstrated, and scaled.”
Surrey provided, through a long-term, low-cost lease, the roughly 10 acres of land inside the Agricultural Land Reserve and will support the project through zoning, permitting, and regulatory processes while SFU will be in charge of the designing and develop the hub and will also oversee applied research programs, and secure grant funding and external investment to support its growth.
Bains provided the Now-Leader with an update this past week.
“The process currently is that Simon Fraser is going through its internal processes to raise funds to deal with the part it needs to deal with and the City of Surrey is working alongside them to get them there,” he said.
“The site is available for them to use today but we anticipate that by the time they get their funding and they push forward it will probably be some time in the beginning to mid of next year.”
“But that’s not a timeline set in stone,” Bains added. “It all depends on the internal processes at Simon Fraser University.”
What actually will be done with the site depends on funding SFU is able to secure.
“The City’s portion of this was to make the land available to them and to work with them on the things that they need,” Bains explained. “The actual investment, the work that’s happening there, that’s what you’re having through Simon Fraser University.
“The City of Surrey will work alongside Simon Fraser University throughout this as it is a part of our agritech strategy,” he added. “It’s not just that we’re giving the land and we’re walking away; we are working with Simon Fraser University through this entire process. It’s a great partnership between the two.”
“It’s about developing technologies that will be used in our agriculture sector,” Bains said.
“A lot of it is just around innovation and using technologies to build efficiencies into the farming practice. It’s exciting to see this happening up close and personal.”