All is not well at the Esplanade Mall which forms part of the new cruise ship port in St. George’s.

GRENADA TODAY has obtained the copy of a letter signed by about twelve of the persons occupying booths at the mall expressing grave concerns about the conditions under which they are forced to operate.

The multi-million dollar cruise ship facility was officially opened one week ago amidst assurances from the promoters of the project, Zublin that things are moving smoothly and most of the booths have been taken up.

However, the letter which this newspaper saw raised concerns about security at the mall, as well as parking facilities and the need for proper garbage disposal.

As a Public Service, GRENADA TODAY produces an edited version of the letter:

Ms Jan Taylor

Property Administrator

Terra Caribbean

Unit# 106

Esplanade Mall

Melville Street

St. George's

December 8, 2005.

Dear Ms. Taylor:

RE: Esplanade Mall Tenants Association

It is with great pleasure that we take this opportunity to inform you that, according with our previous discussions and consultations, the great majority of current tenants of the premises administered by you attended a meeting, which was held at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 7, 2005.

The primary objective of the gathering was to fulfill the need felt by all concerned of establishing a legal entity to provide a forum to ventilate issues conducive to a harmonious relationship among and to the mutual benefit of the Esplanade Mall's proprietors, administrators and leaseholders.

A point unanimously agreed upon was that of a total understanding of the realities accompanying especially the initial stages of any project of the magnitude of the Esplanade Mall, regardless of its location, financiers and/or technical implementers.

Nevertheless, a series of issues of concern with recent developments, as well as with current organisational matters were raised by most attendees, as follows:

*Diversion of cruise liners from the new pier to port facilities on the Carenage, both by direct mooring as well as by tendering of passengers.

This constitutes a most critical matter, with the highest negative effect against the commercial interest of all tenants, as it deprives all commercial enterprises within the mall of customers, the very essence of their endeavour.

Up to date the following vessels and/or their passengers have been landed at the old port facilities:

* Nov 8: Golden Princess

*Dec 1: Easycruise One

*Dec 3: Queen Mary 2

* Dec 3 Windsurf

* Dec 5: Le Levant

*Dec 8: Easycruise One

*Dec 8: Club Med

Percentage of signed tenants lower than promised

Premises were demised on the basis of a minimum of 75% initial occupancy, a rate considered acceptable by means of diversity in order to attract local customers.

Up to date only approximately 50% of the units are operational which, added to the total lack of publicity and the postponement of the official opening to the middle of the second month of rental charges, have up to now rendered the entire mall a rather lackluster proposition for the Grenadian public, with the consequential deleterious effect on the tenants business initiatives.

Untimely rent increase clause

The official tourist season in Grenada encompasses the period between the months of October and April.

Without the tourist flow through the demised premises it is reasonable to expect a significant reduction in the level of income expected to be derived from commercial activities at the Esplanade Mall.

Some tenants expressed their concern in reference to the coincidence of the lowest income level period and the increase in rental fees determined in the lease agreement, which would place some enterprises in a tight position.

General state of incompleteness and lack of administrative coordination.

Rental fees have been charged by the administrators and duly paid for in full by the tenants since the first day of November 2005.

A total of five percent (5%) of those rental fees collected are earmarked in the lease agreement to be utilized for the defrayal of all administrative expenses.

However, several logistic, structural, promotional and managerial issues remain unresolved to date, to the detriment of normal business activities and tenants' minimum comfort requirements.

Tenants attending the first Association's meeting expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of designated parking facilities, the dubious safety of the units' rolling shutters, the method of measuring the demised unit areas, the absence of proper signage and decorations during cruise ship days, the need for sitting facilities in the public areas, the rapid deterioration of the general environment of the public areas adjacent to the mall, the insufficient deployment of security guards, the habilitation of re-entry gates for tourists, other than those initially designated, the lack of background music, the need for proper garbage disposal facilities, the absence of proper taxi information and designation booths, the insufficient cleaning activities during and after shop fitting days, among others, kiosks on aisle obstructing units, unfair competition form Spice Vendors located right outside of the Mall and unsupervised school children groups.

As can be appreciated from the discussions held at the first meeting of the Esplanade Mall Tenants Association, there is a wide space for improvement if the expectations of all stakeholders are to be fulfilled in the long to medium term and the enormous economical and social benefits of such a venture can be rendered to the Grenadian people.

Such goals can be attained with the good will, effort and positive participation of all concerned, which we the undersigned pledge to invest towards the total success of one of the biggest and most significant projects ever undertaken in the history of the Isle of Spice.