24M Plaza Injects Confidence In Economy

Mon, Oct 31st 2011, 10:01 AM

Estimated to have a build-out value of $22 to $24 million, one of Southwest Plaza's principals is taking high retail occupancy and strong public support as signs of growing confidence in the economy and the "new city" still expanding in the Southwest.  The official grand opening for the Plaza was held on Saturday, some 16 months since breaking ground in June last year.
One of the Plaza's principals, Larry Treco, said many of the tenants making up the 85 percent retail occupancy are business veterans.

"We have a very good vote of confidence from the public and the retail sector of New Providence," he told Guardian Business on Saturday.  "When you look at the quality of tenants we have - people who have been in business a long time - it bodes very well to show they are confident in the area and the economy."  According to Treco, almost 350 jobs have been created at the plaza, and he's estimating once fully occupied it should generate between 350 to 400 jobs.

A part of the appeal of the new location is also the access people have to it, not to mention the greater access they will have once ongoing roadworks in the area are complete.   Treco said merchants he canvassed were "very pleased" with their sales thus far, particularly for September and October which are traditionally the slowest sales period for many retailers.  He's anticipating that completion of the Baillou Hill roadwork will bring even more customers to the area.

Already, he said, the plaza's anchor store, Commonwealth Building Supply (CBS) Bahamas, was reporting a wide cross section of customers coming from across the island.  Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who personally attended the opening ceremony, said the Baillou Hill roadwork should improve access to downtown.

"Already the Carmichael commercial area is more conveniently connected to the northern coastline via the Milo Butler Highway and continuing on to the New Providence Highway on to West Bay Street at Saunders Beach.  With the completion of road works on Baillou Hill Road, access to downtown Nassau will similarly become more hassle-free for residents and businesses located here," Ingraham said.

Lowe's Pharmacy chose to put its new 'flagship" store in the plaza.  At 11,000 square feet, Operations Manager for Lowes, Ricardo Adderley, said he believed the store is the largest retail pharmacy in The Bahamas, and one of the largest in the Caribbean.  He's projecting the new store will be a sales leader for the chain and told Guardian Business it should bring in greater market share.

"When we look at the demographics of the Southwest, Carmichael is the fastest growing place in Nassau, so we figured we should move here because so many clients and persons in the area have been asking us to come to Carmichael to serve their needs.  "In doing a store this size, we're thinking in terms of the business it will add to our size," Adderley said.

Since the pharmacy opened late Thursday, business has been brusque at the store, according to Adderley.   The 150,000-square-feet Southwest Plaza is located on an 11 acre site on Carmichael Road, with 130,000-square-feet of leasable retail space and 20,000 square feet of leasable warehouse space.  It has 550 cars, full emergency generator back-up for the plaza, 24-hour security which includes guards and CCTV cameras.  Shops have been open in the plaza for two months ahead of the official grand opening.

Treco said construction costs were around $12 million.  He estimated another $6 million in value would come from the build-out of all the leasable units, based on the costs at the finished retail stores that he was familiar with.  With the value of the land included, he said the total build-out value for the plaza is between $22-and-$24 million.

The current tenants in the plaza include Bahamas Business Solutions, Bamboo Shack, Big One, Body Beautiful, Bristol Wines & Spirits, CBS Bahamas, Dairy Queen, Exquisite Cutz, Fashion Hall, Flying Low Audio, Games & More, Girls Will Be Girls, Lowe's Pharmacy, Marco's Pizza, One Stop Beauty, Outdoor Sportsman, Sandy's, Seago's Sports Bar, The Shoe Village/Clarks and Star General.

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