Indo-Canadian builder-developer Charan Sethi was declared the Business Person of the Year at the annual at the 21st Annual Surrey Business Excellence Awards this week. Sethi is the President of the Tien Sher Group of Companies. He became a ‘one-stop shop’ for real estate developer clients, streamlining services such as assembling, rezoning, designing, selling and servicing new home projects. In 2001, Charan took the first step into the development industry creating housing affordability solutions through innovative midsized, vertically integrated developments. Charan purchased 12 acres in Whalley. Through his efforts, Whalley has been recognized as the Historic Whalley District, promoting Surrey as a centre for arts and culture, and working hard to preserve Whalley’s history. He supported the Flamingo Square Arts initiative by donating business space and money to drive the agency forward in their pursuit of arts revitalization. He gave birth to the micro-suite in Surrey which allowed for a down payment as low as $6,000. The BALANCE building was BC’s first-ever for-sale micro-suite building. Charan is now building the 46-, 37- and 35-storey iconic Flamingo Block towers in Surrey along with a 6-storey building that will add 1,119 homes to Whalley, transforming the intersection of 108 Avenue and King George Boulevard.
