Construction on Downtown Abbotsford’s West Railway Street and Montvue Avenue has been ongoing since June 2025. The city is creating a public amenity space that will be ideal for community events such as social get-togethers, performances, and public markets.
Local businesses on the side of the construction site, including Angry Otter Liquor and Night Owl Kitchen & Bar, have been negatively impacted by road closures leading to limited foot-traffic and a decrease in sales.
The setbacks in construction have been mainly due to supply delays and the atmospheric river which hit the lower mainland earlier in Dec. 2025.
Sean Weatherly, Angry Otter’s community relations manager, spoke to CBC on how construction has affected business.
“We’re down about 40 to 45 per cent, when it comes to our sales.”
Gurminder Gahir, Night Owl’s owner, emphasized how stressful the situation is for him and his business.
“I am trying to keep up with everything, but it’s getting hard, because if we don’t get customers, we don’t have revenue, we can’t do anything.”
However, Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens assured the public about the city’s plans.
“It’s going to be a short term pain, but long term gain.”
The anticipated completion date is near the beginning of March of this year.
