New, formal experience for shoppers as Festival Mall opens for business
As the world prepares for the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the celebrative mood of this season was taken to an exciting and interesting level recently for residents of Festac Town and environs with the opening of the N5 billion Festival Mall, bringing to this environment a new, convenient and formal shopping experience.
Developed by the UAC Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc through the vehicle of First Festival Mall Limited—a joint venture between UPDC Plc, Africa Capital Alliance (ACA) and UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)—Festival Mall is a relatively expansive retail facility sitting on over 12 square metres gross buildable area (GBA).
Hakeen Oguniran, UPDC’s managing director, disclosed at the mall’s elaborate opening ceremony that the mall was born out of the desire to create a destination point for Lagos State residents around Festac, Amuwo-Odofin, Mile 2, Ojo, Alaba, Orile and Okota to have an experience of a formal shopping mall.
“The mall, as can be seen, is located in a commercial/entertainment node that includes the Golden Tulip Hotel & Conference Centre and The Residences, a block comprising 195 condominiums”, Oguniran said, adding, “the mall comprises 47 retail shops, including two anchor tenants (Shoprite and Silverbird Cinemas) and 45 other retailers offering diverse products and services”.
Festival Mall is part of a mix-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.
It parades top of the range facilities including 500 car parking bays, sewage treatment plant, water treatment plant, fire alarm and fire fighting system, 24/7 CCTV surveillance system, and armed police patrol, independent power plant (IPP).
Part of the mall’s distinguishing features is its quality and diverse tenant-mix including Silver Bird Cinema, Shoprite, UAC Restaurants, Debonairs, Etisalat, Slot, Diamond Bank, Rhapsody, Kilimanjaro, Ocean Basket, Office Everything, Montaigne, Sports World, Timepiece Place, Mondo, and Lush.
Others are Accessories2die4,GNC Livewell, Audacious, Lifemate, MayBrands, Essenza ,Healthplus, Nike, Diva House, Time Keepers, Casabella, Opticka Vision, Ennzo, Tesla Mobile, TM Lewin, Levi’s, PC Corner, Gene Bendi, Sumptuous Meals Ltd, Ennzo, Ruff n Tumble, etc.
“The mall will provide delightful shopping experience for residents of Festac Town, Mile 2, Crystal Estate, Anchorage Estate, Okota, Navy Town etc and create a destination point for Lagos residents generally; the varied tenant mix ensures that there is something for everyone at the mall with offerings ranging from entertainment and leisure to clothing, groceries etc”, Gbadamosi assured.
Demola Sogunle, Deputy Managing Director, Stanbic IBTC, disclosed that to make the development of the mall possible, his bank provided a $9 million bridge facility as part-funding to commence the development phase and subsequently refinanced this amount with the provision of a seven-year $25 million medium term loan facility representing c.50 percent of the total project cost.
Commending the authorities of UPDC and their impact in the economy of Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode, the state governor, described the mall as a grand statement by UPDC as a successful corporate entity and also commended the company for their firm belief in the Nigerian economy.
Ambode who was represented at the event by his special assistant on commerce and industry, Benjamin Adeyemi Labinjo, assured of government’s commitment to promoting trade and investment and providing conducive and enabling environment, adding that government recognized the critical status of the private sector as the engine of economic growth and wealth creation.
CHUKA UROKO