Port Kells, Surrey: Industrial Area and Village Guide
Updated · By Jared Gibbons, REALTOR®
Quick answer
Port Kells is Surrey’s north-east corner, on the Fraser River at the Langley border. North of Highway 1 it is an established industrial area of about 781 acres and roughly 610 businesses, mostly light industrial. South of the highway is the original village: a school, a park with an outdoor pool and homes on large rural lots. Over the last three years, houses sold for a median of $1,610,000 and acreages $2,820,000.
Jared’s verdict: Pick Port Kells for a business that runs on Highway 1. Look elsewhere if you want a regular neighbourhood with listings to choose from.
Quick facts · Port Kells
- Typical sale price, 3 years
- Houses $1.61MAcreages $2.82M
- Sold, Nov 2023 to Oct 2026
- 12 acreages, 8 houses
- Typical house sold
- Built 1968 · 0.63-acre lot · 3 bedrooms
- Typical acreage sold
- House built 1974 · 2.6-acre lot
- Drive, off-peak
- Walnut Grove 8 minMaple Ridge 13 minLangley City 14 minSurrey Central SkyTrain 16 minDowntown Vancouver 42 min
- What it feels like
- Warehouses, truck yards and freight trains north of the highway; a quiet village with big treed lots and farmland south of it.
Median prices from closed MLS® sales (Paragon). Drive times measured on OpenStreetMap routing with no traffic, November 10, 2026, from 19150 96 Avenue, in the industrial area; rush hour takes longer.
In my words
Jared’s take on Port Kells
- Who it suits
- Buyers and business owners who want to live close to the industrial district.
- What I’d tell a friend
- The catch is flood exposure along the undiked Fraser riverfront. Check each lot and base your offer on what it is used for today. Long-term planning for South Port Kells is still pending.
Jared Gibbons, REALTOR® · 604-928-1361 · Ask me about Port Kells
On this page (10 sections)
What works and what doesn’t in Port Kells
What works
- Highway 1 and the Golden Ears Bridge are close by. Jared
- There’s some farmland, and the village has an elementary school and a park with an outdoor pool. Walnut Grove’s shops are a few minutes away. Jared
- An established industrial area: about 781 acres and roughly 610 businesses, so your suppliers, trades and customers are close by.
- Surrey had more commercial sales than any other Fraser Valley city in the second quarter of 2026 (53, 19 of them industrial).
- Surrey’s industrial vacancy was 4.2% in the third quarter, lower than Langley’s 5.7%.
- A bus for staff: TransLink’s 501 runs along 96 Avenue to Surrey Central and Langley Centre.
What doesn’t
- Not much choice: four detached listings and no sales in September 2026. Jared
- Expect truck and rail traffic, and use 200 Street to get onto Highway 1 eastbound. Jared
- The river frontage has no dyke, so flood construction levels apply to building there.
- Trans Mountain’s pipeline and pump station are in the district: work within 30 m of the pipeline needs the company’s written consent.
- Lots of new supply: Surrey has 1.6 million sq ft of industrial space under construction, so landlords compete for tenants.
- Port Kells-specific development cost charges if you build or expand.
- No SkyTrain until late 2029, and then Clayton Station is a drive away.
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Where Port Kells is
Port Kells is the north-east corner of Surrey, on the south bank of the Fraser River at the Langley border, east of 176 Street. Highway 1 splits it in two. North of the highway, down to the river, is the Port Kells industrial area: warehouses, distribution, trucking and light industry along 96 Avenue and 192 Street. South of the highway is the original village, with a school, a park and homes on large rural lots.
The name goes back to two settlers, both called Henry Kells, who laid out a townsite on the river around 1889 and 1890 and expected a port to follow. It never did. The 1907 schoolhouse and St. Oswald’s Anglican Church (1911) are what is left of the old village.
Industrial and commercial property in Port Kells
Invest Surrey, the City’s business arm, describes Port Kells as one of Surrey’s major industrial areas: about 781 acres and roughly 610 businesses, mostly on light industrial (IL) zoning, with manufacturing, construction and wholesale and distribution the main uses. The City calls 192 Street the main north-south road serving the industrial area.
There is no published price or rent for Port Kells on its own, so these are the Surrey-wide numbers. In the second quarter of 2026 Surrey had 53 commercial sales, more than any other Fraser Valley city, 19 of them industrial, for $249.9 million in all. In the third quarter, 4.2% of Surrey’s industrial space was vacant, against 5.7% in Langley, and asking rents averaged $19.66 a square foot net plus $6.95 in additional rent.
| Measure | Surrey | Metro Vancouver |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial space (sq ft) | 45.1M | 246.0M |
| Vacant | 4.2% | 4.0% |
| Available | 4.7% | 4.9% |
| Asking net rent, per sq ft | $19.66 | $19.40 |
| Additional rent, per sq ft | $6.95 | $7.27 |
| Under construction (sq ft) | 1,628,917 | 3,562,952 |
Source: Avison Young, Metro Vancouver industrial market report, Q3 2026. Surrey is the whole City of Surrey submarket, not Port Kells alone. How these figures are defined and sourced
Two things to take from that. Surrey has 46% of all the industrial space being built across Metro Vancouver, and in the third quarter more Surrey space was given back than leased (net absorption of −220,336 sq ft). That gives a business looking to buy or lease more choice, and gives a landlord more competition for tenants.
Browse current listings on the Fraser Valley commercial property search, and read the full numbers in the Fraser Valley commercial market report.
Before you buy industrial property in Port Kells
- Zoning and permitted uses. Most of the area is IL, but some sites carry their own comprehensive development (CD) zoning. Check that your exact use is permitted on the exact property with the City of Surrey before you firm up.
- Development cost charges. Surrey sets Port Kells-specific charges for industrial and commercial development, separate from its city-wide rates. If you plan to build or expand, put them in the numbers early.
- Flood. The Fraser River frontage east of 132 Street has no dyke, and the City requires development there to be built to flood protection levels. Ask the City for the flood construction level and check title for a floodplain covenant.
- Pipelines. Trans Mountain’s pipeline and a pump station sit in the district. Digging or building within 30 metres of a federally regulated pipeline, or driving equipment across one, needs the pipeline company’s written consent first.
- Site history. If a site has had certain industrial uses, BC’s contaminated sites rules can require a Site Disclosure Statement before a rezoning, subdivision or permit that disturbs soil. Ask what the site has been used for, and get an environmental professional’s advice before you firm up.
- Rail. CN owns most of the river frontage, and its main line runs along it. Expect trains as background, and confirm any rail access with CN, not the listing.
- GST. GST usually applies when you buy commercial or industrial property, on top of property transfer tax. Get your accountant’s advice on it before you write the offer.
More on zoning types: zoning guide. Land for sale across the city: Surrey lots and land.
The village: South Port Kells
South of the highway, the old village sits around 88 Avenue, with homes on large lots and farmland in the Agricultural Land Reserve along its southern edge. The City’s South Port Kells plan (2005) covers about 608 hectares from the highway down to the ALR. In April 2026 Council authorized planning studies ahead of a neighbourhood plan for the rest of South Port Kells, after the Port Kells Community Association asked for one and owners of 94 of the 192 lots answered the City’s survey. No plan has been drawn yet, so buy a property for what it is today.
Very little sells here. In the twelve months to October 22, 2026 the MLS® sub-area recorded 6 home and land sales: 3 acreages, 2 lots and 1 house. That is too few for a fair median, so ask me for the sold list.
- Port Kells homes for sale
- Port Kells houses for sale
- Port Kells acreages for sale
- Surrey acreages for sale
The rules for suites, ALR land, wells and septic: buying a home in Surrey: the rules and BC acreage buying rules.
Schools in Port Kells
Port Kells Elementary, kindergarten to grade 7, is in the village at 19076 88 Avenue, in the schoolhouse that opened in 1907. There is no secondary school in Port Kells. Surrey Schools sets catchments by address, so check the exact property in the district’s school locator.
Find the catchment school for an address: SD36 school locator. More: Schools in Surrey.
Parks near Port Kells
- Port Kells Park, 19340 88 Avenue, just west of the village centre: an outdoor pool, softball diamonds, a playground, outdoor fitness equipment and the Latimer Creek wetland.
- Tynehead Regional Park, about 260 hectares of forest and meadow at the head of the Serpentine River, with the Tynehead Hatchery, a few minutes west along 96 Avenue.
Getting around Port Kells
- The 192 Street ramps on Highway 1 face west only: on toward Vancouver, off from Vancouver. Heading east to Langley and the valley, you use the 200 Street interchange.
- North across the Fraser, 96 Avenue runs into Golden Ears Way and the Golden Ears Bridge, toll-free since September 2017. Maple Ridge is about 13 minutes off-peak.
- TransLink’s 501 bus runs along 96 Avenue between Surrey Central Station and Langley Centre. Nothing runs on the village streets.
- The nearest SkyTrain will be Clayton Station, at 190 Street and Fraser Highway, when the Surrey Langley line opens (expected late 2029). It is a drive, not a walk.
Is Port Kells right for you?
Are you buying a building for your own business?
Port Kells is built for it: highway access, other industrial businesses around you and a bus for staff. Before you firm up, check that your use is permitted on the exact property, the flood construction level, the site’s past uses and any pipeline or rail line nearby. Fraser Valley commercial property search · Zoning guide
Are you buying to lease it out?
Look hard at the supply. Surrey vacancy was 4.2% in the third quarter, but 1.6 million sq ft is under construction and more space was given back than leased, so price the rent you expect against new buildings nearby. Fraser Valley commercial market report
Do your trucks run east and west on Highway 1?
Westbound is easy from 192 Street. Eastbound goes through the 200 Street interchange, a few minutes further. North over the Golden Ears Bridge is straight up 96 Avenue and Golden Ears Way.
Do you want to live near your work?
Then look south of the highway, in the village, where homes sit on large lots. The industrial lots are for business. Very little comes up for sale, so tell me early and I’ll watch for it. Port Kells homes for sale
Do you want a regular neighbourhood with shops and listings to choose from?
Then Port Kells isn’t it. Clayton, Fleetwood and Walnut Grove are close and have the choice. Clayton guide · Fleetwood and Tynehead guide · Walnut Grove guide
Still not sure? Book a quick call and we’ll talk it through.
Book a call with Jared or call 604-928-1361Nearby neighbourhood guides
Sources for the Port Kells guide
- investsurrey.ca Invest Surrey: Port Kells industrial area profile (opens in a new tab)
- City of Surrey City of Surrey: Corporate Report R179 (2007), 192 Street and Highway 1 (opens in a new tab)
- City of Surrey City of Surrey: Corporate Report R267 (2006), Fraser River dykes (opens in a new tab)
- City of Surrey City of Surrey: Corporate Report R067 (2026), South Port Kells background studies (opens in a new tab)
- City of Surrey City of Surrey: South Port Kells Land Use Plan (opens in a new tab)
- flipbook-surrey-ca.cld.bz City of Surrey: Port Kells development cost charges (2025–2029 Financial Plan) (opens in a new tab)
- City of Surrey City of Surrey: Port Kells Park (opens in a new tab)
- cer-rec.gc.ca Canada Energy Regulator: working near federally regulated pipelines (opens in a new tab)
- Province of BC Province of BC: identifying and disclosing sites that may be contaminated (opens in a new tab)
- historicplaces.ca Canada’s Historic Places: Port Kells Elementary School (opens in a new tab)
- historicplaces.ca Canada’s Historic Places: St. Oswald’s Anglican Church (opens in a new tab)
- Metro Vancouver Metro Vancouver: Tynehead Regional Park (opens in a new tab)
- Surrey Langley SkyTrain Project Surrey Langley SkyTrain: stations (opens in a new tab)
- BC Ministry of Education and Child Care BC school directory, School District 36 (opens in a new tab)
- Fraser Valley commercial market report (GVR Commercial Edge Q2 2026 and Avison Young Q3… (opens in a new tab)
Common questions
Is Port Kells industrial or residential?
Both, split by Highway 1. North of the highway it is an industrial area of about 781 acres and roughly 610 businesses, mostly light industrial. South of it is the old village and rural homes on large lots, with ALR farmland along the southern edge.
Is Port Kells in a floodplain?
The river frontage is. The City says the Fraser River frontage east of 132 Street to the Langley border has no dyke, and development there had to be built to flood protection levels. Ask the City for the flood construction level for the exact property.
How much does industrial property cost in Port Kells?
No one publishes a Port Kells price on its own. Across Surrey, asking industrial rents averaged $19.66 a square foot net plus $6.95 additional rent in the third quarter of 2026. Sale prices depend on the building, the land and the zoning, so ask Jared for recent comparable sales.
What is the zoning in Port Kells?
North of Highway 1 it is mostly light industrial (IL), with some sites on their own comprehensive development (CD) zoning. South of the highway it is rural and residential land under the South Port Kells plan, with ALR land along the southern edge. Check the exact property with the City.
Can I live on an industrial property in Port Kells?
Don’t plan on it. The industrial zones are for business, and the homes are south of the highway. Check the permitted uses for the exact property with the City before you buy.
How do trucks get onto Highway 1 east from Port Kells?
Through the 200 Street interchange. The 192 Street ramps only face west, toward Vancouver.
Is there a school in Port Kells?
Yes. Port Kells Elementary, kindergarten to grade 7, at 19076 88 Avenue. There is no secondary school in Port Kells, so check the catchment for the exact address.
What Buyers & Sellers Say
Excerpts from Google reviews for Jared Gibbons, REALTOR® at Royal LePage Little Oak Realty (Suite 201 - 15272 Croydon Dr, Surrey). Quoted word for word; initials only.
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5 out of 5 stars
“We have sold 2 houses and also bought 2 houses with Jared. He is a very knowledgeable, caring and professional realtor! We highly recommend Jared for selling or buying.”
J.H. Google review
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5 out of 5 stars
“I have bought a new house with Jared and he was very professional and knowledgeable always available to answer any questions I had but above all prepared and personable. I would highly recommend Jared.”
G.E. Google review
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5 out of 5 stars
“Jared is a great realtor. We've used his services to buy and sell 3 different homes. He really knows his stuff. We've always found him to be conscientious, kind, and professional. We are happy to recommend him to our family and friends…”
M.B. Google review
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