Frustration grows over Summerside mall project

Waterfront Mall merchants and local development officials are growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress on a promised redevelopment of the Summerside, P.E.I.,shopping centre.

When the Irish-based Oran Group purchased the Waterfront Mall in Summerside last year, retailers were excited about an announced redevelopment of the site. There were to be 100 condominiums built on top of the mall, and a major facelift of the mall itself. But a year has passed with no word on whether the project will proceed.

In that year nine stores have left the mall or shut down, leaving occupancy at just 25 per cent.

"We've had it great years ago when the mall was full," Karen MacNeil, who has operated out of the mall for 16 years, told CBC News Tuesday.

"We started seeing the decline. New ownership, a lot of stores closing out due to bad timing or bad sales, but it's just getting worse."

The Waterfront Mall was once a major anchor for the downtown. Lack of progress on the development, and even lack of any information on the status of the development, is leading to growing skepticism.

"This is the second-biggest piece of property in the BIA, business improvement area," said Ron Casey of Downtown Summerside Inc., the local development association.

"We always have people coming in the office asking when are they going to start something, what's going on, and things like that."

Confidence in the Oran Group was shaken further earlier this month when it emerged that the architecture firmfor the redevelopment was suing the company for almost $1 million for work it had done on the plans.

"We've been told things are going to happen, things are going to happen and we really haven't seen anything happen," said merchant Kelly Gallant.

"It's just kind of discouraging because we really don't know what to tell people. People are interested here in Summerside about what's going to happen, and they do come in to see if anything's been done. Nothing's been done and we really don't know what's going to be done."

Representatives for the Oran Group were not available to comment Tuesday. Mall merchants hope to meet with company's representatives later this month.