Strata title tenants of Capitol Mall Macau are digging their heels in, opposing plans to revamp the building into a cultural and creative facility.
Capitol Mall – also known as Centro Comercial Teatro Capitol in Portuguese – was opened in 1990, but shopper numbers have dwindled over the years with poor centre management blamed for its demise.
A long running dispute involving the owners, the management company and tenants remains unresolved with conflicting versions of events relating to rent liabilities and lease validities.
Last month, the building’s owners said a new management company had been appointed to run the centre which would reopen in late 2016 after a MOP20 million (US$2.5 million) refurbishment, with a focus on culture and creative businesses.
However at least seven existing ground floor retail tenants are fighting the move and about 50 of 103 strata title holders of retail spaces have yet to agree to the plan. They say the committee representing tenants acted unilaterally in approving the plan.
“We respect the idea, but we have to clarify that how the property should be developed has to be based on an unanimous decision by all proprietors, instead of merely the two-term management committee,” the disputing vendors said in a statement translated from Chinese and published by the Macau Daily.
The seven vendors are threatening legal action to “protect their rights”.