Construction topping out on Festival Mall, anchor tenant opens for business
For the residents of Festac Town in Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos, the future is today as the Festival Mall, an ultra-modern retail centre within their neighbourhood, is topping out and readying for inauguration by October/November this year.
When BusinessDay went on tour of the facility recently, it was pleasantly surprising seeing how UAC Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc has been able to create an exciting business hub from the hitherto mashy landscape that defined the approach to Golden Tulip Hotel from its northern side.
Already, one of the anchor tenants, Shoprite—the South African retail chain that has taken the Nigerian retail market by storm—has opened for business along with nine other companies including Slot, Mondo, Sports World, Maybrands, Rough & Tumble, etc.
The Mall which sits on 13,382 square metres with a gross lettable area measuring about 8,726 square metres, is a joint venture project promoted by UPDC, African Capital Alliance (ACA) and UPDC REIT.
Construction is about 90 percent completed and, according to Sunday Ayoghai, the resident architect, “what remains is the food court area and Silverbird Cinema which are fitting out and gearing up to open for customers and viewers in October this year”.
Ayoghai said the Mall has capacity to park over 700 cars, pointing out however, that in order to avoid congestion, three different pay points have been put in place where anybody who comes in pays before he parks, and this is to ensure people don’t come, park their cars and walk away for days.
Festival Mall is part of a mixed use development that includes Golden Tulip Hotel and The Residences described as the first of its kind in Nigeria by Titilayo Gbadamosi, UPDC’s Marketing and Sales Manager.
Gbadamosi disclosed that adequate security measures had been put in place to ensure security of investments, shoppers, visitors and residents, adding that they had engaged a corporate security firm along with other security personnel including plain-cloth and mobile policemen.
“There are 40 security officers here. We also have CCTV cameras that monitor all the shops and corridors, and also all movements within the mall and its premises. Along the adjoining road, there is police patrol that ensures every movement is checked and monitored too”, she assured.
At The Residences, Ugochukwu Osuji of CDS Global, said work on the 8-floor edifice was at finishing stage, disclosing that the redevelopment work which started late last year would be completed by November this year.
“This building has eight floors and there are 192 apartments comprising one and two-bedroom flats; the project is about 75 percent completed. The remaining 25 percent includes external works and while we are doing the external works, the residents can move into their flats”, Osuji noted.
Gbadamosi described The Residences as an investment destination, pointing out that the demography of Festac Town was that of young families who have high spending power and “I make bold to say that as an investor, you are sure to get very good rental yield from this project”.
“This is a good place for long stay visitors to Nigeria. For instance, a company that has expatriate workers in Nigeria can rent this place for them instead of spending much money on hotel rooms”, she said, noting that with the volume of investment on the premises, the value of the flats would appreciate in good time.
CHUKA UROKO