Park Foods revamp delayed

THE envisioned evolution of Khomasdal’s landmark shopping complex Park Foods from a community-supported SME hub into a well-oiled profit-making machine for the Khomas Regional Council is taking longer than expected because of continued negotiations between the council and its tenants.

Council acquired the now-dilapidated complex with the intent of generating profit, but Director of Planning and Development Services Ben Mulongeni told The Namibian in January that their investment had rather become associated with beggars and criminals reportedly roaming the vicinity, something he said scared away investors.As a result, Council decided to have the complex torn down and rebuilt to allow well-established retailers and other businesses to set up shop there.Business tenants were originally told in December to be out by January 20. Shop owners protested about the short notice, saying it did not give them enough time to find new premises.The Project Manager for the Council, Priscilla Lyakwata, told The Namibian last week that the complaints were valid and the January deadline had been shifted to May 16.Currently, Park Foods houses two shops, a take-away outlet, a bottle store, a bar, a barbershop, a video rental outlet and a repair shop for electric equipment. Both Nic’s Pizza and The Barber Shop said this weekend that they have found new premises.Lyakwata said, however, that two tenants have indicated that they will not be able to vacate the site before the deadline. She said the council is working on options to accommodate them, and the situation should be resolved amicably before May 16.One of these tenants is the Gorreia family, who have operated various ventures at Park Foods over the past 20 years, and who now own a shop, a bottle store, and a recently opened bar.Teresa Gorreia told The Namibian they were still discussing their options with their legal representatives.One of these options is apparently to demand compensation from the Regional Council for loss of earnings during the construction process.Council has suggested an eight-month construction period.Lyakwata said tenants with good payment records will be given preference for premises when the complex reopens.’Obviously there will be an increase in the rental charges. As long as the tenants agree to pay the rent, we cannot deny them business space,’ she said.’We believe there is a sentimental value attached to Park Foods as it has been the sole business centre in the vicinity for many years. We have no doubt about the customer base,’ she said.